The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA have jointly announced the withdrawal of Eritrea from the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
The East African nation were due to travel to Morocco next Thursday before facing Congo four days later in Group E.
Eritrea’s withdrawal means Group E is now down to five teams: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania and Niger, with the side that finishes in pole position booking an automatic spot in the finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“FIFA and CAF can confirm that the Eritrean National Football Federation has withdrawn from the FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition,” read the joint statement.
“Following Eritrea’s withdrawal, group E of the CAF qualifiers will be contested by the five remaining teams: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania and Niger. All of Eritrea’s matches have been cancelled, while the rest of the match schedule for Group E remains unchanged.”
It is the second consecutive qualification series Eritrea has withdrawn from after doing so during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
