Three-time champions and five-time runners-up Super Eagles Nigeria will know their opponents for the qualification race of the 35th Africa Cup of Nations finals when the draw is conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday afternoon, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The draw ceremony inside the SuperSport studio in South Africa’s commercial and economic capital will serve the 48 countries into 12 groups of four teams each, with the top two teams in eleven of the groups qualifying directly to the finals, already scheduled for 21st December 2025 – 18th January 2026, while the 12th group (which has host nation Morocco) will see Morocco qualifying (no matter the position in which they finish) alongside one other team.
The qualifying matches will be played over the FIFA windows of September, October and November this year.
All of Nigeria’s opponents in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying race, viz Benin Republic, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe, are all in Thursday’s draw.
ALL THE 48 TEAMS IN THE DRAW:
POT 1: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Cameroon, Mali, South Africa, DR Congo, Ghana
POT 2: Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, Benin Republic, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Mozambique, Madagascar
POT 3: Kenya, Mauritania, Congo, Tanzania, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Comoros, Togo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Central African Republic
POT 4: Niger Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, The Gambia, Burundi, Liberia, Ethiopia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, South Sudan, Chad
By Olaleye Oluwadamilola