During the Africa Cup of Nations draw in Ivory Coast on Thursday, it’s possible that Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco may end up in the same group. Morocco, one of the six top seeds, made history at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by becoming the first African semi-finalist. Nigeria is among the second seeds, while South Africa is placed in the third seed category for the draw in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast. If Gambia, a surprise quarter-finalist in the 2021 Cup of Nations, is added to the fourth seeds, it could result in a challenging “group of death,” a term used for particularly tough groups.
Despite being three-time winners of the premier African football competition, Nigeria and former champions South Africa were unfortunate not to be seeded higher. Nigeria is currently ranked sixth in the continent, and under normal circumstances, they would have been a top seed, avoiding Morocco, Senegal (the title-holders), Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt in the group stage. However, host countries automatically qualify for the tournament and are always among the first seeds. To accommodate Ivory Coast, ranked ninth, Nigeria had to give up its second-seed status and now shares it with Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
South Africa had previously been ranked above DR Congo, but in the rankings that determined the seedings, they were placed one position below the Congolese. Interestingly, South Africa defeated DR Congo in a friendly match just a few days before the rankings were released.
The other third seeds for the draw include Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, and Mauritania, while the fourth seeds consist of Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Gambia, and Tanzania.
Morocco, despite its relatively poor Cup of Nations record, is likely to be considered the favorite to win the competition scheduled from January 13 to February 11. They have only won the tournament once in 33 editions, back in 1976, in one of the two editions where a mini-league determined the champions. In the previous Cup of Nations hosted by Cameroon in 2022, Morocco was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Egypt.
Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui, who led the team to the semi-finals in the 2022 World Cup shortly after taking charge, has set high expectations and stated that he will step down if his team fails to at least reach the semi-finals.
All six top seeds, as well as Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, DR Congo, South Africa, and Zambia, have previously won the Cup of Nations. Other past champions like Ethiopia, Sudan, and Congo Brazzaville did not qualify for this edition.
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