The draw ceremony for the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals was officially conducted at the Conference Centre, Yaounde, Cameroon on Tuesday 17th August 2021, with the six groups drawing mouthwatering encounters
The expanded 24-team tournament will take place in Cameroon from 9th January to 6th February 2022.
Host nation Cameroon has been drawn in Group A alongside Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde Island.
Last edition finalists, Senegal with their array of stars, will be hoping to better their two times appearances in the final with no positive results but must battle their way past Warriors of Zimbabwe, Guinea and third-time finalists, Malawi.
In Group C, Morocco and Ghana are strong favourites to progress after being drawn against Gabon and debutant, Comoros Island, neither of these two is to be taken for granted due to their impressive qualifying campaigns.
It is mixed feelings for the Super Eagles of Nigeria as they are paired with Pharaohs of Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in what looks like a banana peeling Group D.
Holders Algeria should have a smooth run to the round of 16 of the tournament as they will be meeting underachievers in Sierra Leone, who will be looking to break the jinx of not advancing beyond the group stage since debuting in 1994, with Equatorial Guinea who also will want to go one step beyond their fourth-placed finish in 2015 and Côte d’Ivoire AFCON winners 6 years ago, completing Group E.
In Group F, Tunisia and Mali must be wary of another debuting side, The Gambia who have turned to a very deadly side since Tom Saintfiet took over the Scorpions in 2018 as well as Mauritania, who are making their second appearance at the football showpiece, after their debut in 2019, in South Africa.
The competition reverts to the traditional January/February dates for the 2021 AFCON.
