Nation that hasn't played a match in over five years finally returns to international football
Their previous international fixture was held in January 2020.
Ryan Smart
A FIFA nation that hasn't played a competitive match in over five years has finally made a return to the international fold.
A total of 211 men's teams are currently part of the FIFA World Rankings, with 210 of them officially ranked.
The sole nation that is currently unranked is Eritrea, with the African country having not competed in a competitive fixture since January 2020.
After competing at the 2019 CECAFA Cup - during which they defeated Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti, they lost 1-0 to Sudan in what proved to be their only fixture of 2020.
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Since then, they have repeatedly withdrawn from qualification tournaments and friendly matches at short notice.
The federation have not publicly addressed the withdrawals, but The Guardian claim, via sources, that the main reason is to stop players from requesting political asylum abroad while taking part in away matches.
Eritrea is one of the least-developed countries in the world, and has been under the totalitarian dictatorship of president Isaias Afwerki since 1993.
The country's human rights situation has been described as 'dire' by The Human Rights Council, with the dictatorship enforcing a system of indefinite national service on sections of the population.
There have also been concerns registered over sexual and gender-based violence and abuse of children.
After five years in the footballing wilderness, Eritrea made a low-key return to international football last month.
They took on Niger's 'A' side in two friendly matches on May 26 and May 28, drawing the first game 0-0 before losing the second 1-0.
The matches were held as part of Eritrea's yearly celebrations of their independence from Ethiopia in 1993.
As per Africa Intelligence, a three-team tournament was due to be held also involving South Sudan, but the team ultimately did not make the trip to the Eritrean capital of Asmara.
It remains to be seen whether the friendly fixtures represent the first steps back into international football for Eritrea, with the matches notably being held in their own country rather than abroad.
The results will not count towards the FIFA rankings as Niger's full international side did not take part in the matches, meaning Eritrea will remain unranked for the time being.