The draw for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to take place tomorrow in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Super Eagles of Nigeria may face a challenging group that includes South Africa and Morocco, making it a potential “group of death.”
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Nigeria, which reached the round of 16 in the last AFCON in Cameroon, is among the second seeds, while South Africa is listed among the third seeds. Morocco, who made history as the first African team to reach the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is among the six top seeds.
The Gambia, a quarterfinalist in the 2021 Cup of Nations, is part of the fourth pot.
The Super Eagles, three-time AFCON champions, and former champions South Africa, narrowly missed out on higher seeding. Nigeria ranks sixth in the continental rankings and would typically be a top seed, avoiding teams like Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt in the group stage.
However, as is customary, host countries are automatically included among the first seeds. Nigeria conceded top-seed status to accommodate ninth-ranked Côte d’Ivoire, resulting in a second-seed status alongside Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In an interesting twist, South Africa, which had been ranked higher than the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a significant period, found themselves placed one spot below their Congolese counterparts when the seedings were determined.
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This ranking change occurred just days after South Africa defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a friendly match.
The draw for the 2024 AFCON has generated excitement and speculation among football enthusiasts, as they eagerly await the groupings.
As the tournament approaches, fans are keen to see how the Super Eagles will fare against their potential group opponents in what could be a challenging and highly competitive tournament.
