AFCON 2021 Draw: Nigeria Face Egypt, Sudan, Guinea Bissau

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will square up against Seven-times champions, Pharaohs of Egypt in Group D of the preliminary round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Gernot Rohr’s men, who enjoyed a smooth qualification campaign where they were unbeaten and finished top of their group, will also face Sudan and Guinea Bissau in the other pairings.

In the draw ceremony that took place Tuesday evening at Yaounde Conference Centre, Cameroon, many interesting match-ups have also been thrown up.

Tournament’s favourites
Comoros, who are making their first appearance at the tournament, will have their hands full when they take on Senegal, Ghana and Gabon in Group C.

Algeria must negotiate their way past Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire in Group E if they hope to make it to the second round of the championship. Similarly, Tunisia is pitched against Mali, Mauritania, and Gambia in Group F.

Super Eagles eye 4th title
Chasing their fourth continental crown, Coach Gernot Rohr’s men will begin their quest for glory in the biennial African football showpiece against the Pharaohs at the Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua on January 11, 2022

The two-yearly African soccer masterpiece, now in its 33rd edition, was initially slated to kick off on January 9, 2021. However, it was changed to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that crippled football-related activities across the globe.

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.

Nigeria last won the championship in 2013 when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in South Africa courtesy of Sunday Mba’s first-half strike.

At the last championship hosted by Egypt in 2019, Nigeria finished third after beating Tunisia 1-0 in the third-place match at Al-Salam Stadium, Cairo.

All the groups’ pairings below