The Red Sea Camels will open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Kenya on September 26 before facing South Africa four days later in Cairo.


Eritrea begin their bid for a place at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with two difficult Group D fixtures in the space of four days, starting with an away match against Kenya in Nairobi on September 26.

The Red Sea Camels will then return to Cairo, where they will host South Africa at Al Salam Stadium on September 30.

The fixtures mark Eritrea's return to the group stage of the AFCON qualifiers after the side successfully negotiated the preliminary round earlier this year. Eritrea defeated Eswatini over two legs to reach the group phase, having played their first continental qualifier in almost two decades.

The group also contains Guinea, while Kenya are automatically qualified for next year's tournament as one of the three co-hosts alongside Tanzania and Uganda.

That makes the structure of Group D unusual. With Kenya already guaranteed a place at the finals, only one additional team from the group will qualify.

Kenya provide opening challenge

Kenya will be Eritrea's first opponents at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.

The Harambee Stars are coached by former Manchester City and South Africa forward Benni McCarthy, who has named a 36-man provisional squad for the opening qualifiers. Kenya will face Guinea in Conakry on October 1 after the Eritrea match.

For Eritrea, avoiding defeat would represent a positive start to a campaign in which every point is likely to carry considerable weight.

The Red Sea Camels will have little time to regroup, however, with South Africa waiting in Cairo just four days later.

South Africa begin new era

The South Africa match will be the first competitive fixture of a new era under Pitso Mosimane, who has returned to the Bafana Bafana job for a third spell.

Mosimane takes over from Hugo Broos, who guided South Africa to third place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and a historic run at the 2026 World Cup. The 62-year-old has won the CAF Champions League three times during his club coaching career.

South Africa will begin their own qualifying campaign against Guinea on September 26 before travelling to Egypt to face Eritrea.

For Mosimane, the Cairo fixture will come only days into his return to the national team and will offer an early indication of how quickly he can impose his ideas on the side.

Eritrea seeking another step forward

The Red Sea Camels arrive at the group stage with renewed attention following their victory over Eswatini.

Eritrea won the first leg 2-0 in Morocco in March, with Siem Eyob-Abraha and Ali Suleiman scoring, before completing their progress in the return fixture.

The challenge now is significantly greater.

Kenya provide a difficult away assignment, while South Africa bring considerably more experience of high-level continental football. Eritrea will also have to manage the physical demands of playing twice within four days.

But the two matches offer the Eritrean side an opportunity to establish themselves against stronger opposition.

With only the highest-ranked team alongside automatically qualified Kenya advancing from Group D, a strong start could prove crucial.

Kenya v Eritrea — September 26, Nairobi

Eritrea v South Africa — September 30, Al Salam Stadium, Cairo

For the Red Sea Camels, the opening week of the qualification campaign could set the tone for the months ahead.