The Super Eagles will learn who their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying opponents will be when the draw for the final rounds of qualification takes place on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South Africa (today).
The West African football powerhouse, which crashed out of the 2022 AFCON in Cameroon in the Round of 16 and recently missed out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is seeded in Pot 1 alongside the 12 highest ranked African countries according to the most recent FIFA rankings released on March 31.
A total of 48 countries, including hosts Ivory Coast, are eligible to compete in the final stage of the qualifiers, which will begin across the continent in June.
“The 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams (Group A to L), with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the tournament to be played in the West African country,” according to the Confederation of Africa Football.
“Kenya and Zimbabwe, who have been suspended by FIFA from all football activities globally, will also be included in the draw despite their temporary bans.
“However, if the suspension is not lifted two weeks before their first matchday of the qualifiers, both associations will be considered as losers and eliminated from the competition.”
Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will all be avoided by Nigeria because they are all in Pot 1.
They could face South Africa, Zambia, or Cape Verde (Pot 2); Togo, Zimbabwe, or Angola (Pot 3); and Lesotho, Sudan, or the Central African Republic (Pot 4).
In anticipation of the draw, former Nigeria international Baldwin Bazuaye, who represented the country at the 1990 AFCON in Algeria, stated that the Eagles should not be afraid of any opponents they are drawn against.
“It’s a draw and we all know that one day it will happen. At this stage, we shouldn’t be scared of any team because we are one of the biggest countries in Africa and others will be looking to avoid us in the draw but we need to be focused and respect our opponents irrespective of where they are placed in the FIFA ranking,” Bazuaye revealed.
Another retired goalkeeper, Uche Akubuike, believes the Eagles have what it takes to advance from any group or teams they are pitted against.
“Recent results are making people question the capability of the Eagles, but I’m confident they will make it out of any group they are placed in,” Akubuike said.
The Eagles failed to qualify for the AFCON tournaments in 2012, 2015, and 2017.
