The senior national team of Nigeria will be making a return to Africa continental tournament the Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in Morocco later this year, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Nigeria were runners up to the host Cote d’Ivoire at the last AFCON and after securing their spot at this year tournament, their aim will be to go one step better than last term out under new coach Eric Chelle.
Ahead of the tournament the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will have announced next Monday, the 27th of January as the date for the draws with teams listed base on their placement in the FIFA Rankings.
CAF divided the 24 teams into six groups with the top six ranked nations alongside the host seeded meaning they avoid playing each other at the early stage.
Super Eagles of Nigeria ranked 44th in the world will be in pot 1 with Morocco (14th), Senegal ( 17), Egypt ( 33), Algeria ( 37) and Cote d’Ivoire. All teams in the post are the highest ranked African nations by CAF.
Pot 2 will have Cameroon (49), Mali (57), Tunisia (52), South Africa (57), DR Congo (61) and Burkina Faso (66).
Pot 3 will have Gabon (84), Angola (85), Zambia (87), Uganda (88), Equatorial Guinea (93) and Benin Republic (94).
The last Pot will have Mozambique (96), Comoros (103), Tanzania (106), Sudan (113), Zimbabwe (121) and Botswana (136).
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman