AFCON: Nigeria’s Super Eagles draw Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau

…Face 7-time champions Egypt in first group match

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon and which runs from January 9 to February 6, 2022.

Nigeria, three-time champions of the AFCON, are joined in Group D by Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau.

Gernot Rohr’s side will open their tournament campaign against seven-time champions, the Pharaohs of Egypt, on January 11, before taking on 1970 champions Sudan’s Falcons of Jediane on January 15. They will thereafter round off their group stage games against Guinea-Bissau’s Djurtus on January 19.

All of the Super Eagles’ games will take place at the 30,000-seater Roumdé Adjia Stadium, in Garoua, capital of Cameroon’s North Region.

Algeria, defending champions of the AFCON, will face Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and the Ivory Coast in Group E.

Cameroon, tournament hosts and the second most successful team in AFCON history with five titles – three of which came at the expense of Nigeria – will face Burkina Faso in the tournament opener on January 9 in Yaoundé, before squaring up against Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A.

Senegal are in Group B, along with Malawi, Guinea and Zimbabwe, while four-time winners of the AFCON Ghana will compete out of Group C alongside Morocco, Gabon and Comoros.

Group F has Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and the Gambia.

The top two sides in each group will advance to the round of 16 along with the best four third-placed teams.

The competition in Cameroon, initially scheduled for 2021, was postponed to January-February 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below is the full composition of the groups.

Group A: Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cape Verde

Group B: Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Malawi

Group C: Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon

Group D: Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau

Group E: Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast

Group F: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia