Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn against host Ivory Coast alongside Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau in their quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title in 2024.
The draw, which was conducted at at a colourful ceremony inside the brand-new Parc Des Expositions in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Thursday was hosted by global music star, AKON.
A heavyweight quartet of Africa’s biggest current and former football superstars, Didier Drogba, Mikel Obi, Sadio Mane and Achraf Hakimi supported the Confederation of Africa Football as draw assistants during the pairing.
The Super Eagles were seeded in Pot 2 following their drop in the FIFA rankings released in September.
By their seeding, the three-time African champions knew they faced the task of coming up against one of the top-seeded teams on the continent.
While they avoided a confrontation against the North African sides, Jose Peseiro’s men were, however, handed a tricky start to their campaign with a game against the Elephants.
The match at the 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan is one the most highly anticipated of the tournament’s group stage fixtures.
In other groups, record winners, Egypt were paired in Group B alongside Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique.
Group C has champions Senegal, 2002 winners Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia.
Algeria will slug it out with Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola in Group D.
In Group E, Tunisia face Mali, South Africa and Namibia, while Group F has Morocco, who are ranked number one in Africa, DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.
Next year’s edition of the AFCON will take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024.
