1 of 1
Story summary
- Seven Eritrean national football team players went missing in South Africa after a 2-1 win over Eswatini qualified the team for the group stage of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
- Only three of the ten locally-based players returned home.
- Reports suggest the missing players may have defected, a pattern among Eritrean athletes since 2006.
- The incident has drawn attention and overshadowed Eritrea's achievement in the tournament.
