THE Flying Eagles of Nigeria will face Egypt, Morocco and South Africa in Group B of the 2025 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, according to the competition’s draw held today in Cairo.
Hosts Cote d’Ivoire will be up against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and a yet-to-be-identified team from the Central Africa region in Group A.
Champions Senegal are in Group C with Zambia and Sierra Leone.
The teams are divided into three groups (A, B and C), with Group A containing five teams and Groups B and C four sides each.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed sides.
The tournament, which is billed for April 26 to May 18, also doubles as the African qualifiers for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
The teams who reach the semi-finals in Cote d’Ivoire will qualify automatically for the World Cup.
The Flying Eagles finshed third at the 2023 U-20 AFCON in Egypt and qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
The Nigerians were champions at the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B qualifying tournament in Togo last October, beating Ghana 2-1 in the final.
2025 U-20 AFCON group stage
Group A
Côte d’Ivoire
DR Congo
Ghana
Tanzania
UNIFFAC 2
Group B
NIGERIA
Morocco
Egypt
South Africa
Group C
Senegal
Zambia
Kenya
Sierra Leone
