In the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations draw set to take place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, there is a possibility that Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco could be placed in the same group, forming a formidable “group of death.” The draw will take place on Thursday, and the seeding for the tournament has been a topic of discussion among football fans.
Morocco, who made history at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals, is among the top seeds. Nigeria is among the second seeds, while South Africa finds itself among the third seeds. Gambia, a surprise quarter-finalist in the 2021 Cup of Nations, is among the fourth seeds.
The term “group of death” is used to describe particularly challenging sections in tournament draws. In this scenario, with Morocco as a top seed, Nigeria and South Africa, who are traditionally strong teams, have found themselves in lower-seeded groups than they might have anticipated.
Nigeria, a three-time winner of the Africa Cup of Nations, is ranked sixth in the continental rankings and would ordinarily have been a top seed. However, host countries automatically qualify for the tournament and are also placed among the first seeds. This meant that Nigeria, ranked sixth, had to give way to accommodate the ninth-ranked Ivory Coast and share second-seed status with other teams like Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
South Africa, who had previously been ranked above the Democratic Republic of Congo, found themselves placed one position below in the rankings that determined the seeding. This change occurred shortly after South Africa defeated DR Congo in a friendly match, making it an ironic twist of fate.
The Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024. Despite their past poor record in the tournament, Morocco is expected to be one of the favorites to win, given their impressive performance at the 2022 World Cup. Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui, has stated that he will step down if the team fails to reach at least the semi-finals.
All six top seeds, along with Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, DR Congo, South Africa, and Zambia, have won the Africa Cup of Nations in the past. The tournament will be eagerly anticipated, with several strong teams vying for the prestigious title.