Eritrea vs South Africa: AFCON 2027 Qualifier Preview, Kick-Off Time and Context
Bafana Bafana face Eritrea in a neutral-venue Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Cairo, a first meeting between the sides. Here is the background.
Eritrea and South Africa meet in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Cairo on Wednesday. Kick-off is 17:00 UK time (6pm in South Africa) at Al-Salam Stadium.
This is a preview. The match is at or around kick-off, so no score is given here.
What is at stake
The qualifiers for the 2027 tournament run from September 2026 to March 2027. Forty-eight teams are split into 12 groups, and the top two in each group reach the 24-team finals.
Those finals will be staged in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17 next year. The three hosts qualify automatically but are still playing in the qualifiers. Only one other team advances from each of their groups.
South Africa, Eritrea, Kenya and Guinea are in the same group. According to BBC Sport's table, South Africa lead it with three points from one game. Eritrea and Kenya have one point each after drawing 1-1 in Nairobi at the weekend. Guinea have none.
South Africa: new-old coach, strong away form
Bafana Bafana are under returning coach Pitso Mosimane and are coming off a historic round-of-32 finish at the 2026 World Cup. Flashscore says they are looking for a second win from two in qualifying.
Their away record in AFCON qualifiers is solid. They have lost only four of their last 16 away games and are unbeaten in their last four, taking 10 points from a possible 12. Those results were wins over Liberia, South Sudan and Uganda, and a draw with Congo.
Flashscore also reports that Bafana have lost a key player to injury. The sources provided do not say how that affects the team.
Eritrea: the underdogs
Eritrea, nicknamed the Red Sea Camels, are ranked 184th in the world. That is 130 places below South Africa, according to the Sowetan. They are 50th in Africa, 40 places behind Bafana.
The two nations have never met. Flashscore says Eritrea will be South Africa's 50th African opponent.
The Sowetan notes that Eritrea's national team has historically been withdrawn from qualifying phases over fears of players defecting. It also reports that seven players went missing in South Africa after a preliminary-round match against Eswatini. The team now draws more heavily on players based abroad.
Two of their key players are striker Ali Sulieman of Egypt's Al-Masry and midfielder Tesfaldet Tekie of Sweden's Hammarby. Flashscore says the draw in Nairobi showed Eritrea "are no pushovers".
How to follow
BBC Sport lists the fixture on its football pages. Lamin Jammeh is the referee, according to the BBC's match page. Check your local broadcaster for TV coverage, as the sources do not list one.
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