NIGERIA will find out their qualifying group opponents on Tuesday when the draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations series is held in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday evening.
The event will commence at 6.30pm Nigeria time (7.30pm in South Africa).
The Super Eagles are one of the 48 teams that will be divided into 12 groups of four teams each. Only the group winners are guaranteed tickets to the 34th Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire in the summer of 2023.
Hosts Cote d’Ivoire are also guaranteed a place, alongside the best three second-placed teams from the 12 groups.
Three-time champions Nigeria are among the 12 teams in Pot 1, reserved for the continent’s highest-ranked teams by FIFA.
Others in Pot 1 are champions Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote d’Ivoire.
In Pot 2 are South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Gabon, Benin Republic, Uganda, Zambia, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya and Sierra Leone.
Pot 3 comprises Namibia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Niger Republic, Libya, Mozambique, Malawi, Togo, Zimbabwe, The Gambia, Angola and Comoros.
Tanzania, Central African Republic, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Liberia, South Sudan and Sao Tome & Principe make up Pot 4.
Teams from the same pot cannot be drawn in the same group, meaning the Super Eagles are guaranteed to avoid the likes of Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Cameroon.
The Super Eagles, who are without a head coach at the moment, could however draw tough sides like South Africa, Zambia and Angola, who are in the other pots.
The qualifying campaign is scheduled for between June 2022 and March 2023, with the first two matchdays billed for June.
