THE Super Eagles will battle Egypt in the group phase of the Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, according to Tuesday night’s draw.
The tournament is scheduled for Cameroon in January and February 2022, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced its postponement by a year.
The other teams with Nigeria and Egypt in Group D are Sudan and Guinea Bissau.
AFCON’s most successful team with seven titles Egypt are expected to give the group’s seeded side Nigeria the toughest opposition, although Sudan can also be awkward opponents.
The last time the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Pharaohs of Egypt met was in the qualifiers for the 2016 AFCON when the Egyptians drew 1-1 in Kaduna and won 1-0 at home to eliminate Samson Siasia’s side.
Nigeria defeated Egypt in the 1980 and 1990 AFCONs but lost to the Pharaohs in the 2010 edition.
Each time they met at AFCON since 1980, at least one of them reached the final, Nigeria winning the trophy on home soil in 1980 and losing in the 1990 final to hosts Algeria; Egypt winning the title in Angola in
2010.
In other big-name pairinggs, Ghana were drawn against Morocco in Group C, while Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire are in Group E.
Hosts Cameroon are in Group A with Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Ethiopia.
Cameroon versus Burkina Faso will be the opening match of the tournament in Yaounde.
CAMEROON 2021 AFCON DRAW
Group A:
Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cape Verde Islands
Group B:
Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Malawi
Group C:
Morocco, Ghana, Comoros Islands, Gabon
Group D:
Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau
Group E:
Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire
Group F:
Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, The Gambia
