The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been seeded into Group A with hosts and former African champions Cote D’Ivoire for the 2023 edition of the biennial African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The draws for the prestigious tournament took place last week at the Parc Des Expositions in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire and featured former African football legends Didier Drogba and John Obi Mikel, as well as Sadio Mane as the draws assistants.
Nigeria were placed in Pot 2 heading into the ceremony and were eventually drawn to square off against Equatorial Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea Bissau in Group A at the tournament.
The upcoming face-off between Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire is a match that most African soccer enthusiasts will be looking forward to given both teams’ history at the tournament.
Nigeria emerged as tournament champions in 2013, securing the trophy after beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the finals. However, Nigeria failed to qualify for the tournament two years after and were dethroned by Cote D’Ivoire under the tutelage of French coach Herve Renard.
Former Cote D’Ivoire and Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba not only expressed his excitement about the draw, but also his confidence in the ability of his home team to deliver a win over the Super Eagles.
According to CAFonline, Drogba acknowledged the difficulty of the group and described the game against Nigeria to be “an exciting challenge.”
“This is the beauty of a competition like AFCON, so we are ready to take on the challenge and let the best teams of this group and all the groups qualify,” Drogba stated.
The official match schedule for the tournament has been released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The 2023 edition of Africa’s biggest football tournament is set to take place between the window of January 13 to February 11, 2024, in five major cities in Cote D’Ivoire including Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Bouake, San Pedro, and Korhogo.
Nigeria will officially kickoff their AFCON campaign facing Equatorial Guinea on the 14th of January. Thereafter they will square off against the hosts Cote D’Ivoire on the 18th of January before rounding up their group stage gauntlet against Guinea Bissau on the 22nd of January.
