AFCON 2023: Defending champions Senegal to face Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt in tight group
By Joel Sang, October 13, 2023The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Ivory Coast in 2023 are promising to be very exciting, as giants are expected to meet in the group stages.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw on Thursday, October 12, 2023, in Abidjan, and the ceremony was attended by Didier Drogba, Mikel Obi, Sadio Mane, and Achraf Hakimi.
Ivory Coast will face heavyweight Nigeria in Group A, with Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau being the other members of that pool.
Hopeful Drogba
Drogba, who is Ivory Coast’s all-time leading scorer, said playing the Super Eagles promises to be a thrilling early test.
“It is a very difficult group. Nigeria is, of course, one of the favourites and to have them in our group is going to be an exciting challenge.
“But we are up for it. This is the beauty of a competition like AFCON, so we are ready to take on the challenge and let the best teams of this group and all the groups qualify,” Drogba told CAFOnline.
Meanwhile, Group B also promises to be a tight one, given that record winners Egypt and Ghana are set to clash with the Cape Verde Islands and Mozambique as well.
The Egypt-Ghana clash will bring back memories of the AFCON final where they clashed together in 2010 in Angola, which the former won.
Senegal, who are the defending champions, will face Cameroon in Group C. The pre-tournament favourites will meet on Monday for an international friendly in France.
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola add further star quality to Group D.
Morocco, who dazzled in the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, are favourites in Group D, which also has the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania.
Matches will take place at six venues across the Western African country, including newly constructed stadiums in Abidjan, Korhogo, and San Pedro.
The 2023 finals will run from January 13 to February 11, 2023.
AFCON 2023 Groups:
Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau
Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde Islands, Mozambique
Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Gambia
Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia
Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania