The number of players who did not return to their home country after the second leg of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifiers—where Eritrea clinched a 2-1 victory over Eswatini—stands at seven. Only three of the ten locally-based players made the trip back: Ablum Teklezgi, Nahom Tadesse, and Rommel Abdu.
The reasons behind the disappearance of the seven players remain unclear. According to the newspaper Micky Jnr , this appears to be a "defection," with the players refusing to return home. https://x.com/MickyJnr__/status/2040815903713919458
