Nigeria in the same group with Egypt, Tanzania for 2017 Afcon ticket

Tomiwa Babalola

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn in the same group with seven-time African Cup of Nations champions, Egypt for the 2017 AFCON qualifiers which starts in June.

The 2013 champions are in Group G the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Taifa Stars of Tanzania and Chad to secure a spot for themselves in Gabon in two year's time.

The Pharaohs, who have not appeared in the last three editions of the championship won the 2006, 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations back-to-back, to add to earlier triumphs in 1957, 1959, 1986 and 1998.

Super Eagles could also not reach the 2015 finals at Equitorial Guinea following their 2-2 draw against South Africa on the last day which made them fail to defend the title they won two-years ago in South Africa after missing in action at the 2012 finals.

Only the winners of the 13 groups are guaranteed spots in the finals, alongside host Gabon. Two best second –placed teams also go through.

Matches between Nigeria and Egypt at international level are usually box-office, and the games for Gabon 2017 qualification would be no less supercharged.

Tanzania lost 3-1 to Nigeria in the opening match of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, and then got thrown out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifying race by the Green Eagles.

ALL THE GROUPS

GROUP A
Tunisia
Togo
Liberia
Djibouti

GROUP B
DR Congo
Angola
Central African Republic
Madagascar

GROUP C
Mali
Equatorial Guinea
Benin Republic
South Sudan

GROUP D
Burkina Faso
Uganda
Botswana
Comoros

GROUP E
Zambia
Congo-Brazzaville
Kenya
Guinea Bissau

GROUP F
Cape Verde
Morocco
Libya
Sao Tome e Principe

GROUP G
Nigeria
Egypt
Tanzania
Chad

GROUP H
Ghana
Mozambique
Rwanda
Mauritius

GROUP I
Cote d’Ivoire
Sudan
Sierra Leone
Gabon (later named host nation)

GROUP J
Algeria
Ethiopia
Lesotho
Seychelles

GROUP K
Senegal
Niger Republic
Namibia
Burundi