The Super Eagles will contest with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, Libya’s Mediterranean Knights and Seychelles in the qualifying race for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to be hosted by Cameroon.
The draw made in Libreville, Gabon on Thursday night also put African powerhouse teams Tunisia and Egypt in the same Group J, while Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea are in Group H and Mali and Gabon are in Group C with Democratic Repulic of Congo and neighbours Congo-Brazzaville in the same Group G.
Nigeria defeated South Africa 4-0 on aggregate in the qualifying race for 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (which the Eagles won) and beat the Bafana home and away in the race for the 2010 finals in Angola. But after home-and-away draws, Bafana Bafana edged Nigeria to qualify for the 2015 finals in Equatorial Guinea.
The Super Eagles will host the 1996 champions on Matchday 1 in the first week of June, with the remaining five matches to take place in 2018.
THE DRAW
Preliminary Round
Sao Tome e Principe Vs Madagascar
Comoros Vs Mauritius
Djibouti Vs South Sudan
All The Groups
Group A: Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Sao Tome/Madagascar
Group B: Cameroon, Morocco, Malawi, Comoros/Mauritius
Group C: Mali, Gabon, Burundi, Djibouti/South Sudan
Group D: Algeria, Togo, Benin Republic, The Gambia
Group E: Nigeria, South Africa, Libya, Seychelles
Group F: Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone
Group G: DR Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Zimbabwe, Liberia
Group H: Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Central African Republic, Rwanda
Group I: Burkina Faso, Angola, Botswana, Mauritania
Group J: Tunisia, Egypt, Niger Republic, Swaziland
Group K: Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Namibia
Group L: Cape Verde, Uganda, Tanzania, Lesotho
. Group winners and the THREE best second –placed teams qualify for the finals.
Note: Cameroon will host the finals. They compete in Group B, with points to be awarded. If Cameroon finish as winners, the second –placed team qualifies. If they finish runners-up, the winners qualify. If they finish third or fourth, the winner qualifies with the second –placed team also able to contest for one of the THREE best runners-up slots.
