Three times Africa Cup of Nations champions, Nigeria have been drawn in Group A of the qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations billed for Côte d’Ivoire.
The draw which held on Tuesday in South Africa also had in Group A, Sierra Leone who were in the same group with Nigeria during the AFCON qualifiers in Cameroun, Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome.
Last February, Senegal won the very first African Cup of Nations(AFCON) in its history. The much-coveted trophy will be put back into play next June with the start of the qualifiers for the next AFCON which will take place in Cote d’Ivoire.
The draw for the 12 qualifying groups for the event took place this Tuesday evening in South Africa and the Lions of Teranga were placed into group L with Benin, Rwanda and Mozambique.
The Ivorians were placed in group H. The Elephants will approach this qualifying campaign with less pressure since they are already assured of participating in this competition on home ground. Following their fantastic display in the last tournament, Comoros will be facing Ivory Coast, as well as Zambia, ten years after their defeat in the AFCON final against Herve Renard’s Chipolopolos.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will be able to prepare for their participation in the Qatari World Cup with matches against the Harambee Stars of Kenya, Namibia and Burundi.
Nigeria and Ghana fall into groups largely within their reach, unlike South Africa which, in addition to their Zimbabwean neighbors, will have to face Morocco. The last AFCON finalists Egypt will face Guinea.
Finally, Algeria, which fell against Cameroon in the FIFA World Cup qualifier, will face Tanzania and Uganda.
