Sports News | Eritrea Withdraws from Qualifying for 2026 World Cup Days Before First Game Against Morocco
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Eritrea has withdrawn from African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup just days before its opening game against Morocco, FIFA confirmed.
Zurich, Nov 11 (AP) Eritrea has withdrawn from African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup just days before its opening game against Morocco, FIFA confirmed.
Eritrea last played an international game almost four years ago but was scheduled to open its qualifying program against Morocco next week. Morocco coach Walid Regragui on Thursday acknowledged that the game in Agadir likely would not go ahead.
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"All of Eritrea's matches have been canceled, while the rest of the match schedule for Group E remains unchanged,” FIFA said Friday.
Morocco, the 2022 World Cup semifinalist, is favored to advance from the group that includes Niger, Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia.
Only teams that finish top in the nine African groups will advance directly to the 2026 World Cup being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
A 10th African team can qualify for the inaugural 48-team World Cup through inter-continental playoffs in March 2026. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)