By Milcah Tanimu
The Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles, are poised to discover their group stage opponents in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) during the draw ceremony in Abidjan today, according to The PUNCH.
The Super Eagles, three-time African champions, were placed in Pot 2 for the draw due to their recent drop in FIFA rankings. This seeding means they are likely to be matched against either the host nation, Ivory Coast, or one of the top four African teams.
Given the presence of numerous North African countries in Pot 1, Nigeria faces a high probability of being grouped with teams like Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, or Algeria.
While the likelihood of drawing North African teams is significant, the Super Eagles could also find themselves in a group with Ivory Coast or Senegal. Their other potential opponents will emerge from Pots 3 and 4.
Pot 3 includes teams like Cape Verde, 2012 champions Zambia, 1996 champions South Africa, as well as Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, and Mauritania. Nigeria is guaranteed to face one of these six countries.
Pot 4 consists of the lowest-ranked teams in the competition.
In other news, Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been called up to the Super Eagles for friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique due to uncertainty surrounding the availability of goalkeepers Adeleye Adebayo and Olorunleke Ojo. Okoye’s return marks his first call-up since November 2022 when he was invited for an international friendly against Portugal.
Adebayo, based in Israel, faces challenges related to his flight due to a crisis in his base, while Ojo is yet to receive an entry visa to Portugal, where the friendlies will be played. Francis Uzoho, who plays in Cyprus, is the only goalkeeper currently in the Eagles’ training camp in Portugal.
Maduka Okoye had been the Eagles’ first-choice goalkeeper at one point, but his tenure with the national team had been marred by costly errors and threats to his life. He has made 16 appearances for the Super Eagles and has kept six clean sheets for the three-time African champions.
As of the time of this report, the Eagles were still expecting the arrival of new invitee Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
Meanwhile, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface trained with the squad in Portugal ahead of the upcoming friendlies.
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