By Korede James
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been drawn with Egypt, Morocco and South Africa in Group B of the 2025 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
The final draw for this year’s tournament took place on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt.
Hosts Côte d’Ivoire will face DR Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and a yet-to-be-identified team in Group A.
Group C has champions Senegal, Zambia and Sierra Leone.
The teams are divided into three groups (A, B and C), with Group A containing five teams and Groups B and C four sides each.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed sides.
The tournament, which is billed for April 26 to May 18, also doubles as the African qualifiers for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
The teams who reach the semi-finals in Cote d’Ivoire will qualify automatically for the World Cup.
At the 2023 U-20 AFCON in Egypt, the Flying Eagles finished third.
The team emerged champions in the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B qualifiers in Togo last October, beating Ghana 2-1 in the final.
2025 U-20 AFCON GROUP STAGE
Group A
Côte d’Ivoire
DR Congo
Ghana
Tanzania
UNIFFAC 2
Group B
Nigeria
Morocco
Egypt
South Africa
Group C
Senegal
Zambia
Kenya
Sierra Leone
