Seven-time champions Nigeria will battle with Egypt, South Africa and Morocco in Group B of the 2025 U-20 AFCON, scheduled for Ivory Coast between April 26 and May 18.
The draw for the tournament was made at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday.
It’s the second consecutive time Nigeria will be in the same group as Egypt in the competition.
The Flying Eagles pipped the Young Pharaohs, who were also hosts of the last edition 1-0 in a group phase match in 2023, and they must ensure a great start to their campaign in Ivory Coast to build confidence for a tough tournament which will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile from September 27 to October 19.
F’Eagles get tough U-20 AFCON draw
14th February 2025
F’Eagles get tough U-20 AFCON draw
By
Abiodun Adewale
Seven-time champions Nigeria will battle with Egypt, South Africa and Morocco in Group B of the 2025 U-20 AFCON, scheduled for Ivory Coast between April 26 and May 18.
The draw for the tournament was made at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday.
It’s the second consecutive time Nigeria will be in the same group as Egypt in the competition.
The Flying Eagles pipped the Young Pharaohs, who were also hosts of the last edition 1-0 in a group phase match in 2023, and they must ensure a great start to their campaign in Ivory Coast to build confidence for a tough tournament which will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile from September 27 to October 19.
Nigeria finished third in Egypt two years ago.
Former Malian player Adama Coulibaly, an assistant at the draw conducted inside the CAF headquarters in Egypt on Thursday, said, “There is no doubt that the toughest group is the group B that has Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Morocco.”
Hosts Ivory will have to contend with DR Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and the yet-to-emerge representative team of the Central Africa zone, in a five-team group A.
Cup-holders Senegal head Group C, which also has Zambia and two debutants Kenya and Sierra Leone.
The two top-placed teams in each group, alongside the best two third-placed finishers in the three groups, will advance to the championship’s quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Flying Eagles coach Aliyu Zubairu has called to camp 30 players ahead of the two friendlies against Egypt which will be played on February 25 and 27 in Cairo.
The list has three goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders and 11 forwards.
The Flying Eagles, champions of Africa in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005, 2011 and 2015, won the WAFU-B U20 Championship held in Lome, Togo in October last year to be eligible for the finals in Ivory Coast. They defeated Ghana’s Black Satellites 3-1 in the final match.
The two-time FIFA World Cup runners-up, in 1989 and 2005, came within breathing distance of the semi-finals at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Argentina, before losing narrowly to the Korean Republic after extra time.
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