South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria could potentially be placed in the same group when the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw takes place in Ivory Coast on Thursday.
Morocco, who made history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is one of the six top seeds.
South Africa had to settle for a spot among the third seeds for the draw in Abidjan, the economic hub of Ivory Coast, while Nigeria were among the second seeds.
It would be an impressive “group of death,” the term used to describe particularly difficult sections, to add surprise 2021 Cup of Nations quarterfinalists Gambia from the fourth seeds.
South Africa and Nigeria, who have both won the premier African football competition, were unfortunate not to have received higher seeds.
The Super Eagles are ranked sixth in the continent and would have been the top seed if they hadn’t had to play Morocco, Senegal, the defending champions, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt in the group stage.
However, host nations are always among the top seeds and not only automatically qualify for the tournament held every two years.
Sixth-placed Nigeria had to make room for ninth-ranked Ivory Coast and now shares second-seed status with Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For a while, South Africa had been ranked higher than the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but in the rankings used to determine seedings, they fell one spot behind the Congolese.
Ironically, South Africa moved up the rankings after defeating DR Congo in a friendly just a few days before they were announced.
Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, and Mauritania round out the third seeds, and Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Gambia, and Tanzania round out the fourth seeds.
Zambia, who unexpectedly won the 2012 Cup of Nations after defeating an Ivory Coast team led by Didier Drogba on penalties, returned to the tournament after three consecutive missed qualifying opportunities.
The only qualifiers who have not participated in at least one of the previous two tournaments are Zambia and Mozambique, whose most recent appearance was in 2010.
Despite a dismal Cup of Nations track record, Morocco is expected to be installed as the favourite to win the competition from January 13 to February 11.
In 33 editions, they have won the title just once, defeating a group in Ethiopia in 1976 in one of the two editions in which a mini-league determined the winners.
In the quarterfinals of the most recent Cup of Nations, which Cameroon hosted in 2022, Egypt defeated Morocco.
Walid Regragui, the coach of Morocco who oversaw the stunning World Cup run after taking over only a few months earlier, has announced his intention to resign if his team doesn’t at least make it to the semifinals.
“We must be at least in the semi-finals of the CAN (Cup of Nations). If I do not go to the semi-finals, I will leave on my own,” he told the Moroccan media.
“I told my players that we cannot be kings of the world before being kings of our continent. Everyone wants to beat Morocco after our results in Qatar.
“This makes it more difficult for us to win, but it also motivates the players to improve and I welcome that.”
The Cup of Nations has been won by all six top seeds in addition to Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, the DR Congo, South Africa, and Zambia. Ethiopia, Sudan, and Congo Brazzaville, the other champions, did not make the cut.
