AFCON 2023: Hosts Ivory Coast drawn with Nigeria as defending champions Senegal handed tough group
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place over the summer, but will now be played between January 13 and February 11 at the start of next year due to concerns over weather conditions.
The hosts will go up against three-time champions Nigeria in Group A, as well as Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The top two sides in each group progress to the last-16, along with the four best third-placed teams.
Senegal are the current African champions, after beating Egypt on penalties in the final in 2021, and they have plenty of work to do if they are to defend that crown, after being drawn with Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia.
“It’s a really difficult group,” Senegal star Sadio Mane said after the ceremony.
“Cameroon is going to be really tough but we will give our best to go through in the first round.”
There is plenty of expectation surrounding Morocco, after their sensational run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar last year, beating the likes of Spain and Portugal.
The Atlas Lions, who will host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025, have not won this tournament since 1976, and will face DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania in Group F.
“We will try to do our best during this AFCON, similar to what we did in the World Cup,” PSG defender Achraf Hakimi said.
“We have a good team, a good group and we will do our best to win.”
Africa Cup of Nations 2023 draw in full:
Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau.
Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique.
Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, The Gambia.
Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola.
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia.
Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania.
