AFCON 2023: Nigeria's Super Eagles land in Group A, draw hosts Ivory Coast

• Nigeria have been drawn alongside tournament hosts Ivory Coast in Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
• The Super Eagles will kick off their tournament against Equatorial Guinea.

One of the pre-tournament favourites, Nigeria will be favourites to face little trouble in advancing to the knockout rounds of the competition together with Ivory Coast.

Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau were in the same group at the last edition of the AFCON in 2019, where second-half goals from Umar Sadiq and William Troost-Ekong powered the Super Eagles to a [2-0] win.

Ivory Coast and Nigeria are familiar customers at the AFCON, having faced each other on six occasions.

The Elephants have the head-to-head advantage, though, claiming four wins to Nigeria's two.

The Super Eagles' most memorable win over the Ivorians, however, came at the 2013 edition in South Africa.

Two stunning goals from Emmanuel Emenike and Sunday Mba lifted Nigeria to a [2-1] win over a Didier Drogba-inspired side in that quarterfinal clash. The Eagles defeated Mali in the semifinal and Burkina Faso in the final to secure Nigeria's third and latest title triumph.

Nigeria have, however, never met Equatorial Guinea at the AFCON, with the Nzalang Nacional only making their tournament debut in 2012.

Nigeria are three-time winners of the AFCON, while Ivory Coast lifted the honours in 1992 and 2015.

ALL THE AFCON GROUPS

Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau

Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique

Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Gambia

Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola

Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia

Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania