By Akinwale Kasali
The Super Eagles of Nigeria could face Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup semi finalist, Atlas Lion of Morocco at the 2024 African Cup of Nations Tournament in Côte d’ Ivoire when the draws for the Continental showpiece will be done in Abidjan.
The Coach Jose Peseiro tutored team had booked a place at the showpiece having topped their qualifiers Group that consist of Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and São Tomé and Principe.
There is also speculation that the Super Eagles could face their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers opponent, Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the tournament if the mock draw that was done is anything to go by.
Though Nigeria could have been seeded in Pot A for the tournament following its recent FIFA Ranking that has seen it dropped to Sixth position in Africa behind Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria.
Nigeria, a three-time winner of the premier African football competition, and former champions, South Africa, were unlucky not to be seeded higher.
But host countries not only automatically qualify for the two-yearly tournament, they are also always among the first seeds. To accommodate ninth-ranked Cote d’Ivoire, sixth-placed Nigeria had to give way and now share second-seed status with Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Democratic Republic of Congo.
South Africa had been ranked above DR Congo for some time but, in the rankings that decided the seedings, they were placed one place below the Congolese.
It was an ironic change of positions as South Africa defeated DR Congo in a friendly match just a couple of days before the rankings were released.
The other third seeds are Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania, while the fourth seeds include Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Gambia and Tanzania.
Zambia, who were 2012 champions thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Didier Drogba-inspired Cote d’Ivoire, are back at the Cup of Nations after three straight failures to qualify.
Zambia and Mozambique, whose last appearance was in 2010, are the only qualifiers who have not featured in at least one of the last two tournaments.
Despite a poor Cup of Nations record, Morocco is set to be installed as favourites to win the January 13 to February 11, 2024 competition.
It has been champion just once in 33 editions — topping a 1976 group in Ethiopia in one of only two editions where a mini-league determined the champions.
Putting all this factors into consideration, there is tendency for the Super Eagles, Bafana Bafana of South Africa, Morocco and Gambia to Grouped alongside, as Gambia is among the teams in the fourth pot.
