Three-time champions and five-time runners-up Nigeria will know their opponents for the qualification race of the 35^th Africa Cup of Nations finals when the draw is conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday afternoon.

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 21^st December 2025 – 18^th January 2026, while the 12^th 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

PHOTO: Man of the Competition: Nigeria captain William Ekong scores the opener of the 34^th Africa Cup of Nations Final against Cote d’Ivoire inside the Stade Olympique d’Ebimpe, Abidjan on 11 February 2024. The Elephants eventually won 2-1 to lift the trophy.

Author: NFF Media