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.
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, The first full international was in the 1999 CECAFA Cup, the year after the ENFF joined the CAF and FIFA.
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. before another goalless draw in Asmara. The coach was Eritrean Tekie Abraha. and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers,
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. 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, 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, Given the number of players seeking asylum, the Eritrean government began requiring athletes to pay a 100,000 nakfa surety before traveling abroad. 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. 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.
2025
2026
Coaching history
thumb|200px|[[Tekie Abraha, who was born in Asmara, became the first manager of the national football team of Eritrea]]
- 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 preliminary round double-header against Eswatini, on 25 and 31 March 2026.
- Caps and goals are correct , after the match against Eswatini.
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.
<!--Sorted by position, date of birth, caps, goals and most recent call-up.-->
;Notes
- <sup>PRE</sup> = Preliminary squad / standby
- <sup>WD</sup> = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
- <sup>INJ</sup> = Withdrew due to injury
<!-- *<sup>SUS</sup> = Serving suspension
- <sup>DOC</sup> = Not part of the current squad due to problems with his documentation. -->
Player records
:Players in bold are still active with Eritrea.
Most appearances
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width="30"|Rank
! style="width:160px;"|Name
!width="50"|Caps
!width="50"|Goals
! style="width:100px;"|Career
|-
|1
|style="text-align: left;"|Yidnekachew Shimangus
|23
|6
|1998–2007
|-
|2
|style="text-align: left;"|Yonas Fesehaye
|19
|5
|1999–2007
|-
|3
|style="text-align: left;"|Natnael Mesfun Zeru
|16
|0
|1998–2003
|-
|4
|style="text-align: left;"|Abel Afeworki
|13
|0
|1998–2002
|-
|5
|style="text-align: left;"|Efrem Bain Kaleb
|12
|0
|1998–2006
|-
| rowspan="4" |6
|style="text-align: left;"|Fassil Abreha
|11
|3
|1999–2003
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Berhane Aregai
|11
|5
|2002–2007
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |Ali Sulieman
|11
|6
|2019–present
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |Ablelom Teklezghi
|11
|0
|2019–present
|-
|}
Top goalscorers
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width="30"|Rank
! style="width:150px;"|Name
!width="50"|Goals
!width="50"|Caps
!width="50"|Ratio
! style="width:100px;"|Career
|-
|rowspan=2|1
| style="text-align: left;" |Ali Sulieman
|6
|11
|0.55
|2019–present
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Yidnekachew Shimangus
|6
|23
|
|1998–2007
|-
|rowspan=2|3
|style="text-align: left;"|Berhane Aregai
|5
|11
|
|2002–2007
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Yonas Fesehaye
|5
|19
|
|1999–2007
|-
| rowspan="2" |5
| style="text-align: left;" |Testfaldet Goitom
|3
|8
|
|2003–2009
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Fassil Abreha
|3
|11
|
|1999–2003
|-
|rowspan=4|7
|style="text-align: left;"|Elmon Temekribon
|2
|1
|
|2007
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Robel Kidane
|2
|7
|
|2015–2019
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Suleman Mohamed
|2
|7
|
|2003–2007
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Abel Okbay
|2
|8
|
|2019
|-
|}
Competition records
FIFA World Cup
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!colspan=9|FIFA World Cup
!rowspan=39|
!colspan=6|Qualification
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
|1930<br>to<br>1938
|colspan=8|Part of
|colspan=6|Part of
|-
|1950<br>to<br>1990
|colspan=8|Part of
|colspan=6|Part of
|-
|1994<br>to<br>1998
|colspan=8|Not a FIFA member
|colspan=6|Not a FIFA member
|-
|<br><br>2002
|rowspan=2 colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2||0||1||1||0||4
|-
|<br>2006
|2||0||1||1||0||3
|-
|<br>2010
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
|<br>2014
|rowspan=3 colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2||0||1||1||2||4
|-
|<br>2018
|2||0||0||2||1||5
|-
|<br>2022
|2||0||0||2||1||4
|-
|<br><br><br>2026
|colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
|<br><br><br>2030
|rowspan=2 colspan=8|To be determined
|rowspan=2 colspan=6|To be determined
|-
|<br>2034
|-
!Total||–||||–||–||–||–||–||–||10||0||3||7||4||20
|}
Africa Cup of Nations
{| class="wikitable nowrap" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!colspan=9|Africa Cup of Nations record
! width="1" rowspan="38" |
!colspan=6|Qualification record
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| 1957||colspan=8 rowspan=17|Part of
|colspan=8 rowspan=17|Part of
|-
| 1959
|-
| 1962
|-
| 1963
|-
| 1965
|-
| 1968
|-
| 1970
|-
| 1974
|-
| 1976
|-
| 1978
|-
| 1980
|-
| 1982
|-
| 1984
|-
| 1986
|-
| 1988
|-
| 1990
|-
| 1992
|-
| 1994
|colspan=8 rowspan=3|Not affiliated with CAF
|colspan=6 rowspan=3|Not affiliated with CAF
|-
| 1996
|-
| 1998
|-
| 2000 ||colspan=8 rowspan=5| Did not qualify
|9
|1
|1
|7
|4
|22
|-
| 2002
|2
|1
|0
|1
|3
|6
|-
| 2004
|6
|1
|0
|5
|1
|7
|-
| 2006
|2
|0
|1
|1
|0
|3
|-
| 2008
|6
|2
|3
|1
|5
|8
|-
| 2010||colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
| 2012 ||colspan=8 rowspan=2| Did not enter
|colspan=6 rowspan=2| Did not enter
|-
| 2013
|-
| 2015||colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
| 2017||colspan=8 rowspan=3| Did not enter
|colspan=6 rowspan=3| Did not enter
|-
| 2019
|-
| 2021
|-
| 2023||align=center colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
| 2025 ||colspan=8|Excluded
|colspan=6|Excluded
|-
| 2027
|colspan=8|To be determined
|colspan=6|To be determined
|-
!Total||–||0/35||–||–||–||–||–||–
!25
!5
!5
!15
!13
!46
|}
CECAFA Cup
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!colspan=9|CECAFA Cup record
|-
!colspan=9|Appearances: 12
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| 1973 to 1992||colspan=8|Part of
|- style="background:#9acdff;"
| 1994||Fourth place||4th||5||2||1||2||3||2
|-
| 1995||colspan=8 rowspan=2|Did not enter
|-
| 1996
|-
| 1999||rowspan=3|Group stage||11th||2||0||0||2||2||6
|-
| 2000||8th||4||0||1||3||4||15
|-
| 2001||11th||3||0||0||3||3||17
|-
| 2002||colspan=8 rowspan=3|Did not enter
|-
| 2003
|-
| 2004
|-
| 2005||rowspan=2|Group stage||10th||4||0||0||4||2||18
|-
| 2006||11th||3||0||0||3||0||10
|-
| 2007||Quarter-finals||8th||4||2||0||2||8||8
|-
| 2008||rowspan=2|Group stage||10th||4||0||1||3||2||13
|-
| 2009||12th||3||0||0||3||0||13
|-
| 2010||colspan=8|Did not enter
|-
| 2011||Group stage||11th||3||0||0||3||2||10
|-
| 2012||colspan=8 rowspan=2|Did not enter
|-
| 2013
|-
| 2015||Group stage||11th||3||0||0||3||0||9
|-
| 2017||colspan=8|Did not enter
|- style="background:silver;"
| 2019||Runners-up||2nd||6||3||1||2||8||6
|-
!Total||0 Titles||12/40||44||7||4||33||34||127
|}
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 31 March 2026
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!width=220|Opponent<br />
!width=100|Pld<br />
!width=70|W<br />
!width=70|D<br />
!width=70|L<br />
!width=100|GF<br />
!width=100|GA<br />
!width=120|GD
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 7 || −5
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 5 || −4
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 4 || 1 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 3 || +0
|-
|- bgcolor="FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 2 || +4
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 4 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 6 || 2 || +3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 5 || −5
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 10 || 3 || 1 || 6 || 11 || 14 || −3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 3 || −3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 4 || −3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 4 || −4
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 10 || 0 || 2 || 8 || 7 || 16 || −9
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 8 || −6
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 2|| 1 || +1
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 12 || 3 || 2 || 7 || 7 || 20 || −13
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 1 || 7 || −6
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 8 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 6 || 17 || −11
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || −3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || −3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 0 || 8 || −8
|-
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total || 87 || 15 || 20 || 52 || 59 || 141 || −82
|}
References
External links
- Eritrea at CAF
- Eritrea at FIFA