After a long delay to various sports tournaments all over the world due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We are just a few months away from the start of another edition of AFCON being held in Cameroon this time around. The groups have already been drawn out and the teams are ready to fight for an all important cup in African football.
Here are the draws for this year’s AFCON:
- Group A: Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cape Verde
- Group B: Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Malawi
- Group C: Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon
- Group D: Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau
- Group E: Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast
- Group F: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia
Here’s the road to the final:
- Group stage: from January 9 to 20, 2022
- Round of 16: January 23-26, 2022
- Quarter-finals: January 29 and 30, 2022
- Semi-finals: February 2 and 3, 2022
- Third Place match and Final: February 6, 2022
Top two teams from each group and the four best teams at third places will qualify for the Round of 16.
This year’s AFCON group draws have already thrown in some spicy match ups. Egypt vs Nigeria is one of the most anticipated group D clash of this year’s AFCON as both teams are hot favorites to win AFCON 2021.
Nigeria and Egypt are expected to the top two teams in Group D, with 3rd spot up for the taking. But since only the four best third place teams get to qualify, you would expect a stern competition from Sudan and Guinea-Bissau for qualification.
Egypt’s Mohammad Salah will be the key for his team’s success in this year’s AFCON. He has been in great form for Liverpool last season with 22 goals and 5 assists. There were news going around of him as well linking him with a move away from Liverpool at the start of the season. But he has already hit the ground running with five goals and 2 assists.
For Nigeria, Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi, the current Leicester and Everton players are going to play an important role going into this year’s AFCON.
Kelechi Iheanacho has also been in great form last season for his club, scoring 12 goals and providing 2 assists in 25 matches. Alex Iwobi has also been putting in good performances lately for Everton.
All in all, this year’s AFCON and especially group D matches would be a treat to watch as the pressure takes its toll
