2027 AFCON: Yakan reacts to Eritrea victory over Eswatini

Eritrea national team coach Hesham Yakan has reacted to his team’s rare 2-0 victory over Eswatini in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round match on Wednesday.

The Red Sea Camels prevailed over the fancied Sihlangu at the Stade d’Honneur in Morocco in the preliminary round first leg match.

🇪🇷 Eritrea have won their first official competitive international football match in years, following their return from a self-imposed exile.

An amazing accomplishment for new coach Hesham Yakan and his mix of diaspora and domestic-based players, who played this “home game” in… pic.twitter.com/7DQxsTHjEK

— The Sweeper (@SweeperPod) March 25, 2026

Eritrea owed the result to Yakan’s second half substitutions which eventually paid off after Eswatini had earlier missed an opportunity from the penalty spot.

How Eritrea’s second half substitutions worked

England-based Siem Eyob came off the bench to score for the Red Sea Camels in the 82nd minute before Sulieman Ibrahim made it 2-0 two minutes of added time.

In a post-match interview with the Eritrea National Football Association website, Yakan credited his players for the victory, saying they showed determination to claim the first leg advantage.

“I am happy that the players pushed and made sure we got this win. Now we need to prepare for the second leg on March 31st,” the coach said.

🇪🇷 #Eritrea 2-0 #Eswatini 🇸🇿
Eritrea scored the second goal against Eswatini. pic.twitter.com/5NfeZwRGxR

— EritreanPost 🇪🇷🇸🇴🇩🇯🇸🇩🇪🇬 (@eritrean_post) March 25, 2026

During the match, the hosts should have gone ahead earlier but Egypt-based Ali Sulieman Ibrahim wasted his opportunity from the penalty spot.

Eswatini goalkeeper Mlamuli Lenny Makhanya saved the spot kick. Ibrahim made amends with the second goal to seal the victory.

Eritrea hosted Eswatini in Morocco as the former do not have a CAF-accredited stadium in their country.

Eswatini will now welcome the Red Sea Camels in the second leg on March 31.

ERITREA GET THEIR GOAL AGAINST ESWATINI VIA A CORNER KICK 🤩🤩🤩

🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷

Eritrea 🇪🇷 1-0 Eswatini 🇸🇿 https://t.co/3rrldObLDP pic.twitter.com/vlYGnIqtq2

— dedo ⚽️ (@dlicps) March 25, 2026

The overall winner between Eritrea and Eswatini will advance to the group-stage to join seeded teams.

What result means to Eritrea on FIFA World Rankings

Eswatini are currently ranked 159th in the world while Eritrea are not rated due to their recent inactivity. However, with their involvement in the preliminary round games, the Red Sea Camels will surely enter the rankings in the next few months.