Super Eagles’ AFCON 2025 Qualifying Opponents to Emerge Today

*Nigeria Join hosts, Morocco, Cameroon, S’Africa, Others in Pot 1

Femi Solaja

AFCON 2023 finalists, Super Eagles, have been placed in Pot 1 ahead of the draw ceremony for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations that will be held this evening in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the draw procedure yesterday, with 48 teams expected to be engaged in the draw.

According to CAF,  the 12 highest-ranked nations based on the June FIFA Rankings, will occupy Pot 1.

Nigeria, currently ranked fifth in Africa, will join hosts Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, South Africa, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in this top tier.

This placement means Nigeria will avoid facing these top teams in the group stage.

This is particularly significant given Nigeria’s recent history with some of these nations: Ghana prevented Nigeria from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, Côte d’Ivoire defeated Nigeria in the 2023 AFCON final, and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana are currently a major obstacle in Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The draw for the AFCON 2025 qualifiers will create 12 groups of four teams each (Groups A to L). The top two teams from each group, except for the group including hosts Morocco, will qualify for the tournament.

AFCON 2025 finals are scheduled to be held from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.