Nigeria’s men’s senior football national team, Super Eagles will confront Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, following the outcome of the competition’s official draw ceremony in the host country’s capital, Yaoundé on Tuesday.
Megasportsarena.com reports that the three-time winners will compete alongside the other trio in Geoup D, with Egypt appearing to be the biggest challenge they will face, after qualifying unbeaten and finished top of their log.
Nigeria, who won the competition in 1980 and 1994 as well as 2013, when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in South Africa courtesy of Sunday Mba’s first-half strike, will first tango The Pharaohs of Egypt at Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua on January 11.
In other groups, the defending champions Algeria have been drawn with the Ivory Coast, while hosts Cameroon will kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso.
Algeria, who won the 2019 edition in Egypt, will face the Ivorians in their last Group E game, by which time both countries could have advanced from the first round ahead of Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Cameroon, who will be hosting the tournament 50 years after their only previous time, have a tricky game against Burkina Faso in Yaoundé in Group A on January 9.
The Indomitable Lions will also face Ethiopia and Cape Verde Islands, who have been their bogey side in recent qualifying competitions.
Another seeded country, Tunisia have been zoned alongside Mali, Mauritania, and Gambia in Group F, while debuting Comoros will have their hands full when they take on Senegal, Ghana and Gabon in Group C.
The 33rd edition of the biennial African football showpiece, which had initially been due to begin on January 9, 2021, was pushed back to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that crippled football activities.
Before the advent of Covid-19, the competition was moved from June-July 2021 dates to January 2022 due to the unfavourable climate in the West African country during the summer months.
This means several clubs in the English Premier League sides will be affected by the impending absences of their key players during the tournament, with Liverpool and Arsenal among those most severely hit.
Liverpool will be without Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegal forward Sadio Mane, while midfielder Naby Keita will also be in action for Guinea.
Arsenal will lose captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Gabon, along with Nicolas Pepe of Ivory Coast, while Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are also likely to play for Ghana and Egypt respectively.
Leicester City’s duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi will play for Nigeria, while Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez will spearhead Algeria’s attempt to retain the trophy.
With the top two teams in each group plus the four best third-placed finishers advancing to the knockout stage, it is not expected there will be any early casualties among the fancied sides.
Two stadiums in Yaoundé plus newly built or refurbished venues in Bafoussam, Douala, Garoua and Limbe will be used in the tournament, which was postponed for a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It concludes on February 6 next year.
Cameroon were initially scheduled to host the competition in 2019 but were stripped of the right by Confederation of African Football when inspectors found they were not ready, after which Egypt then stepped in as hosts at the last minute.
2021 AFCON FULL DRAW
Group A: Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Ethiopia
Group B: Senegal, Guinea, Malawi, Zimbabwe
Group C: Morocco, Comoros Islands, Gabon, Ghana
Group D: Nigeria, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Sudan
Group E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone
Group F: Tunisia, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania
