The Eritrea national football team () represents Eritrea in men's international football and it is controlled by the Eritrean National Football Federation (ENFF). It is nicknamed the Red Sea Camels. It has never qualified for the finals of the FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. Asmara side Red Sea FC are the main supplier for the national team and the team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Excluding its first match-up in the pre-Independence era (which was a 1–1 draw in a friendly against Sudan in 1992), Eritrea's official maiden international game after gaining independence from Ethiopia was during the group stage of the 1994 CECAFA Cup by winning 1–0 against Seychelles. It would later advance to the semi-finals in their first participation, losing to both Tanzania and Kenya, subsequently finishing fourth. In recent years, Eritrea's national team gained notoriety as several players vanished in an attempt to seek political asylum in foreign countries, leading to numerous withdrawals from the qualifying phase of major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations: from September 2023 to March 2026, Eritrea did not even have a FIFA ranking due to inactivity.
As of 2026, the team's best result in a competition was during the most recent CECAFA Cup it participated in by finishing runner-up in 2019 as Eritrea came up short in the final by losing 3–0 to hosts Uganda.
History
Joshua Yonas' team participated in a friendly tournament in Sudan in 1992, the year before Eritrea achieved independence. Eritrea participated in the 1994 CECAFA Cup, organised by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Association, even though the ENFF was not founded until 1996. The first full international was in the 1999 CECAFA Cup, the year after the ENFF joined the CAF and FIFA. They participated in the qualifying rounds of the 2000 African Cup of Nations and the 2002 World Cup, and subsequent editions until 2008. They have also appeared intermittently in the CECAFA Cup.
In the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Eritrea managed a scoreless home draw versus Cameroon and a 1–0 home win over Mozambique. They finished second in their three team group, and advanced to a playoff round where they faced Senegal and Zimbabwe, but ultimately lost all four matches in that final stage.
In the first round of the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup, they were drawn against Nigeria, and were defeated 4–0 in the away leg, after a goalless draw at home. The coach was Yilmaz Yuceturk.
In the first round of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Sudan was Eritrea's first round opponent. Eritrea lost the first leg 3–0, before another goalless draw in Asmara. The coach was Eritrean Tekie Abraha.
In group 6 of the qualifiers for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, under the guidance of Romanian Dorian Marin, Eritrea finished second behind Angola, failing to qualify for the final tournament. They beat Kenya twice and drew at home to Angola.
In the first round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Eritrea faced Rwanda. The first leg in Asmara ended in a 1–1 draw (and saw Eritrea's first ever goal in a World Cup qualification match), but Rwanda took the second leg by a score of 3–1.
In the first round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Eritrea faced Botswana. The first leg in Asmara saw Botswana win 2–0, and the second leg in Francistown saw Botswana win 3–1, with Botswana winning 5–1 on aggregate.
In the first round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Eritrea faced Namibia. The first leg in Asmara saw Namibia win 2–1, and the second leg saw Namibia win 2–0; Namibia won 4–1 on aggregate.
Eritrea withdrew from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and would not play a match for six years until May 2025, when they played two matches against the Niger A' team: from 21 September 2023 to 31 March 2026, Eritrea was left out of the FIFA rankings because they did not play a recognised match within the last four years.
On 25 March 2026, Eritrea played their first competitive game since before the COVID-19 pandemic when they participated in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round. It was also their first AFCON-related game since 2008.
Withdrawals from major tournament qualifying On 30 March 2014, Eritrea withdrew from the preliminary round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, likely due to a rising number of the Eritrean national team players defecting from Eritrea during away matches. They were intended to play against South Sudan, who were awarded a walkover.
On 2 March 2022, Eritrea withdrew from the preliminary round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers due to the lack of a stadium that meets the requirements set by CAF to host its international matches. They were intended to play against Botswana. Botswana were also awarded a walkover.
In November 2023, Eritrea, who were drawn into Group E alongside Morocco, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo and Niger, pulled out of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, citing the reason as being the refusal of Zemede Tekle, who is the Eritrean Commissioner for Sports and Culture, to participate in the playoffs.
Defections Recent years have seen a high number of refugees leaving Eritrea, and some athletes travelling to competitions abroad have taken the opportunity to abscond. In December 2012, seventeen Eritrean footballers and the team's doctor vanished after the CECAFA championship tournament in Uganda and all applied for asylum in the country. Four players of Red Sea FC defected after a CAF Champions League 2006 match in Nairobi, Kenya, and up to 12 members of the national side after the 2007 CECAFA Cup in Tanzania. Another 6 players sought asylum in Angola in March 2007 after a group 6 qualifying game for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. Three more players from the national team sought asylum in Sudan.
Eritrea withdrew from the 2008 CECAFA Cup, and from the common qualifying tournament shared by the 2010 World Cup and the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Given the number of players seeking asylum, the Eritrean government began requiring athletes to pay a 100,000 nakfa surety before traveling abroad.
Eritrea returned to the 2009 CECAFA Cup in Nairobi. A young squad was assembled with just 12 days' training. In Group B, they gained a surprise draw with Zimbabwe, lost narrowly to Rwanda, and beat Somalia 3–1. They were easily beaten 4–0 in the quarter-finals by Tanzania. Twelve squad members failed to report for the return flight, and sought the assistance of the Refugee Consortium of Kenya. They were believed to be in hiding in Eastleigh, an eastern suburb of Nairobi home to many immigrants. Nicholas Musonye, the secretary-general of CECAFA, feared that the government might react by refusing to let the team travel abroad in future. The twelve players were later granted interim asylum by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kenya. Eleven of these players have since travelled to Adelaide in Australia with two of them, Samuel Ghebrehiwet and Ambes Sium, signing for Gold Coast United in the A-League in August 2011.
In the first round of the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, ten players from the Eritrean football team refused to return home after playing a World Cup qualifying match in Botswana and were granted asylum there.
In September 2019, four members of the national Under-20 team sought asylum in Uganda after the team qualified for the semi-finals of a competition. A few months later in December, a further seven players selected for the international team refused to return home and sought asylum in Uganda after a tournament. In October 2021, five footballers from the country's under-20 women's team also disappeared when on international duty in Uganda.
Return to qualifying competitions In March 2026, Eritrea won both legs against Eswatini with 4–1 on aggregate in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round, advancing to the AFCON qualifiers for the first time in nearly two decades. However, of the ten domestic players called up for the games, only three returned, with seven suspected to have absconded in South Africa.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2026
2027
Coaching history
Tekie Abraha (1991–1996) Mushir Osman (1998–1999) Tekie Abraha (1999–2000) Yılmaz Yücetürk (2000–2002) Negash Teklit (2002) Vojo Gardašević (2002) Tekie Abraha (2003) Mrad Abdul Tesfay (2004) Dorian Marin (2006–2007) René Feller (2007–2008) Negash Teklit (2009–2012) Omar Ahmed Hussein (2013–2015) Alemseged Efrem (2015–2019) Ermias Tewelde (2024–2025) Hesham Yakan (2026–present)
Caretaker managers are listed in italics
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Kenya on 26 September and South Africa on 30 September 2026. Caps and goals are correct , after the match against South Africa.
Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up for the team within the last twelve months and are still available and eligible for selection.
DEF
WD DEF DEF DEF DEF
WD WD DEF
Notes PRE = Preliminary squad / standby WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. INJ = Withdrew due to injury DEF = Player defected
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Eritrea.
Most appearances
RankNameCapsGoalsCareer1Yidnekachew Shimangus2361998–20072Yonas Fesehaye1951999–20073Natnael Mesfun Zeru1601998–20034Ali Sulieman1362019–presentAblelom Teklezghi1312019–presentAbel Afeworki1301998–20027Efrem Bain Kaleb1201998–20068Fassil Abreha1131999–2003Berhane Aregai1152002–2007
Top goalscorers
RankNameGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Ali Sulieman6132019–presentYidnekachew Shimangus6231998–20073Berhane Aregai5112002–2007Yonas Fesehaye5191999–20075Testfaldet Goitom382003–2009Fassil Abreha3111999–20037Elmon Temekribon212007Robel Kidane272015–2019Suleman Mohamed272003–2007Abel Okbay282019
Competition records
FIFA World Cup FIFA World CupQualificationYearRoundPosition1930to1938Part of Part of 1950to1990Part of Part of 1994to1998Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member2002Did not qualify20110420062011032010Did not enterDid not enter2014Did not qualify201124201820021520222002142026WithdrewWithdrew2030To be determinedTo be determined2034Total–––––––10037420
Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1957Part of Part of 1959 1962 1963 1965 1968 1970 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994Not affiliated with CAFNot affiliated with CAF 1996 1998 2000 Did not qualify9117422 2002 210136 2004610517 2006201103 2008623158 2010WithdrewWithdrew 2012 Did not enter Did not enter 2013 2015WithdrewWithdrew 2017 Did not enter Did not enter 2019 2021 2023WithdrewWithdrew 2025 ExcludedExcluded 2027To be determined220041Total–0/35––––––2775151747
CECAFA Cup
CECAFA Cup recordAppearances: 12YearRoundPosition 1973 to 1992Part of 1994Fourth place4th521232 1995Did not enter 1996 1999Group stage11th200226 20008th4013415 200111th3003317 2002Did not enter 2003 2004 2005Group stage10th4004218 200611th3003010 2007Quarter-finals8th420288 2008Group stage10th4013213 200912th3003013 2010Did not enter 2011Group stage11th3003210 2012Did not enter 2013 2015Group stage11th300309 2017Did not enter 2019Runners-up2nd631286Total0 Titles12/4044743334127
All-time record Key
Pld = Matches played W = Matches won D = Matches drawn L = Matches lost
GF = Goals for GA = Goals against GD = Goal differential Countries are listed in alphabetical order
As of 30 September 2026