The Super Eagles have been drawn in Group D with Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The draw was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon and had in attendance CAF president Patrice Motsepe and some African football legends.
Among the African greats who were present include Roger Mills, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, El Hadji Diouf, Rabah Madjer and Asamoah Gyan.
The Super Eagles will open their campaign against Egypt on January 11 before they will face Sudan on January 15 in their second group game.
They will then play their final group game against Guinea-Bissau on January 19.
Hosts Cameroon are in Group A with Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape, Group B has Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea and Malawi and the teams in Group C are Morocco, Ghana, Comoros and Gabon.
For Group E, the teams are defending champions Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire while Group F consist of Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia.
The opening game of the 24-team tournament will be between Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16.
The tournament will run from 9th January to 6th February 2022.
By James Agberebi
35 Comments
Boom!!!
Let’s go to prayer Mountain for the Super Eagles o!!!
For wat ? Just to play Sudan nd Guinea bissau with the Egypt that was beaten by soy4h Africa Africa common wat are u saying actually
no be only mouthain na fire
Bring any team we will beat them…..We are not afraid of anyone…. infact they are the ones who are supposed to be worried about us……Come on
Exactly, they should be the ones afraid of us
Yes the fans are not afraid of any team in Africa but our coach is afraid of every team
Fair group. I don’t think Egypt is as strong as 2016, although still a threat with Salah and the bulk of their team from Al Ahly and Zamalek.
Nigeria is brimming with talents in all departments, except in the last man – They can go all the way. Senegal for me are the real hurdle.
Only if these resources at Nigeria’s disposal could be maximally fished and utilised. I can only score current handlers 65%. Manageable but… So much room that could shore it to at least 80%. Assistance from Amunike, Ikeme etc won’t be a bad idea.
My brother @kel you are a generous man to rank oga Rohr 65% .
If I’m to be fair at best 55%, a lot needs to be done for me to rate him higher.
Let me say a big thank you for speaking your mind without any fear of man, this is what we need here.. independent thinkers
Kudos to you!!
My brother @Goal, thanks. Very important to analyse and speak independently and non-sentimentally, otherwise people lose their voice and authenticity trying to jump on the bandwagon of ‘popular’ opinion.
It should be about respecting any divergent views but also being unafraid to pitch your tent with the truth, whether it goes right or left.
The opposite is becoming predictable with your comment based on the news report and the news personality. It starts to become about seeing everything in black or white (no grey or in-between sef), not based on the actual colors, but who or what the news is about or the opinion of other camp members. Overtime, those inauthentic, sentimentally tainted views lose weight and bite and become space fillers cos of their predictability. They become mere attachments to other authentic views or a footnote in small fonts.
That said, wouldn’t it be interesting to see how camp members rate Rohr percentage-wise? Would be intriguing to see anyone not dancing around the matter and bluntly & boldly scoring him 90% or even an 80. Or on the other divide, anyone going as low as 39. Lol
Hahahaha….Rohr has taken 63 points out of a possible 90 in all the competitive matches he has contested since taking over….that’s a score of 70%…..and that’s all that matters. Lolz.
Anybody wey e pain, make e just bear am like that.
@Kel you do have very valid points and scoring the gaffer 65% as a neutral is very impressive if you ask me lol! Winning 63 points out of a possible 90 is not bad at all statistically putting him at 70% overall to this point despite being owed several months of salaries. Those facts means he’s not a bad choice for Nigeria as a coach after all. Didn’t we saw other coaches choices by the NFF at the time avoided the SuperEagles like a plague? Claiming the targets given to them is unrealistic??
SuperEagles standard bearer remains Clemence Westerhoff’s conic Nigeria side of 94. Yet it took him 3 AFCONS to finally win the trophy because he was building a team that will last a lifetime. That’s why almost 30 years after we are still talking about that team. To the extent that Jimmy and Dr Drey have been giving us nostalgic memories about Ikpeba’s caps prior to 94 or 96 over the last week or so Lmao!!
Overall I will score him between 75% and 80%. If you watch the AFCON draw live as I did. I’m sure you heard the likes of Didier Drogba, El Hadji Diouf, Lucas Radebe talking about Nigeria as a favorite to win the cup. Those legendary opinions are down to the fact that a lot of our hopefuls are doing well in Europe.
We are on our way to a third major tournament as favorites after missing back to back AFCONS. This team is experienced now you just have to hope that the powers that be don’t start clashing with senior members of the team and make sure all necessary emoluments are taking care of.
If you came into an organization who are bereft of ideas and focus, dwindling in debts and resources. And you took them out of that situation into a better financial stability wouldn’t you expect to be compensated as at when due?? My brother there’s nothing wrong in freedom of speech as long as it’s done constructively.
This team is going to Cameroon with the aim of winning the cup, we must put our house in order. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE#
I love this idea of scoring Rohr using percentages. I rate him about a 62%. Not great but not bad.
Here’s my scoring broken down into three periods:
1. Pre WC 2018- He gets major points for lifting us out of the doldrums and navigating qualification with ease, beating some big teams in friendlies and infusing a freshness, professionalism, and joyful exuberance not seen in the years prior. 29/30
2. WC thru Afcon- cracks begin to show in his game management skills and tactical nous especially in the WC losses. Questions about the goalkeeping department and a meaningless loss to Madagascar doesnt help but credit must be given for winning 5 games at afcon and producing the top scorer. Did well but this is the era the grumbles began 21/30
3. Post Afcon- I wont mince words, the Eagles have regressed since Afcon. It didnt help that the world suffered a pandemic but Nigeria has not had a good run of results or playing style since afcon. Even our better moments still suffered some taint, sierra leone debacle, losing leads against ukraine and brazil. But what sticks out was a lack of victory in the calendar year 2020 and just abysmal play during friendlies. Bizzarely and stubblrnly playing Akpoguma at right back even when it was clear for all to see that he didnt belong there. Credit for qualifying but in truth was that ever a question in a group with benin, s. Leone and lesotho? The few positives may have to do with discovering a few new players but again invited guys barely get to play. 12/30
Well said.
Akpoguma played at right back at his clubs opener against Ausburg.
It’s strange to hear people who are not coaches questions a professional coach over his decisions on players position,players they worked closely with,assessed and decided where they are best suited for their team.
Yes Akpoguma has played severally at right back for both club and German under 20’s respectively.
God bless you @Greenturf. That’s how they claimed Etebo is been played out of position by the gaffer only to see him play in the same position for Watford in their EPL opener. Even at that a professional player must be able to adapt to any role suitable for him by his or her coach. The notion that Rohr plays certain players out of position is quite laughable.
@Greenturf… Goodmorning. But in all honesty, would you play Akpoguma at right back ahead of Aina, Ebhehi? Did you see how he fared in those friendlies he played in that position? I don’t think he can really do better than Aina or Ebuehi there… In my opinion though.
Hi Kel,
Let me try and rate Rohr along certain variables:
Tournament games: 80%
Tournament qualifiers: 100%
Friendlies: 60%
Fans acceptance/approval: 45%
Brand of football: 68%
Use of Resources: 60%
Source of confidence: 60%
Good omen. The last time we had Egypt in our 1st match in AFCON was in 1994 and we ended up winning that tournament after playing to a barren draw against the Pharaohs. I remember with nostalgia that hip control and volley that hit the crossbar by the late gangling Rasheed Yekini.
A notorious volley from virtually the middle of the pitch that almost broke the goal post. We also meet them in 2010 when we lost 3-1 in the first game. Still we won bronze in that tournament. I’m absolutely certain that we will win this group. We shouldn’t have problems with Sudan and Guinea Bissau. Egypt will be the actual test of the character of our boys. This SuperEagles are experienced now and we have options across the board. We are coming with the trophy. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE#
U are right. Sorry I had posted it before I remembered the 1-3 loss to them in 2010. But I am confident we’ll not only come out of this group but have a say in this competition.
Nice memory. That was a tough 0-0 match in ‘94. It was however the second game as we had already thrashed Gabon 3-0 with Yeking scoring twice including a thunderous freekick that is still tearing nets till today!
@Tunsak, Gabon was our first match in Tunisia 94 and it ended 3 goals to nil in our favour..
Correct. We won 3-0 and Egypt won same Gabon 4-0 to top the table on GD.
On a normal ground, super eagles will qualify from this group, and that’s all. Please, don’t bring all those your epistles on why this group is a group of death. Abeg.
Folks stop panicking we have the players to deliver the knockout blow to Egypt, Rohr’ should go back and review past videos about this Egyptian team. Our flanks and midfield must be on point, if can shutdown their wing plays we will beat them. Solomon Kalu most a miss.
We should be able able to too this group,I’m not taking about qualifying.
Witht a possessive style of play and right discipline. eagles will soar.
Favorable group but do not underestimate the Sudanese, the bulk of their team plays for Al merikh in the Sudanese league and have played together for a while. They recently beat Ghana 3-0 but in all I think we should handle them well with all seriousness.
Nff please pay up your debts. Make early preparation please. We beg
Fear enough group, it can’t be worst that we won’t qualify as runner up, but men who be Egypt? We topping that group.
What was Etoo doing..Man didn’t reshuffle the balls well..Hahaha! That was on a lighter note. This draw threw up some very good football games to watch Ghana-Morocco, Algeria vs Ivory Coast and our Super Eagles vs the Pharoahs. We need to start now to prepare.
@Micheal why would d fans be affraid when all they know is to making unnecessary noice while those that will face the heat know what they are up against. Afterall, he never said he is afraid of any team but that news was fabricated by your one and only can reporter..
Now let the games begin….!
Playing in the group stages will be a mere formality for Nigeria. We will qualify with games to spare again….that one is 100% sure. The tournament for me will start when the knockout stage commences…..Na only the hosts and their usual chuachua fit stop us from winning this tournament.
Rohr should itemize a provisional 30 man list and just focus on using the WCQ to forge them into a winning team ahead of the AFCON……he shouldn’t listen to all these “invite this, invite that, 4 homebased yen yen yen yen yen noise makers anymore”. Focus on your BEST 30 MEN (barring injuries and loss of form) and bond them into a hard as a rock team.
Settle the matter of who your 1st choice goalkeeper is, your 1st choice CB pairing, 1st choice wingbacks, 1st choice midfielders, who should best partner Osimhen up front and who should best replace Osimhen if unavailable. The time to sort all that out is NOW. The time starts NOW. All of them need to start getting a run of games together and forging the needed chemistry and understanding even if blind-folded.
There wouldn’t be much time for preparations for the AFCON and I don’t even think there is a free FIFA window for friendlies till the end of the year. A January afcon will mean top clubs would only be obliged to release players for just the 2 weeks preceding the tournament, except for leagues that go on winter breaks in December/early January…..so the time to start preparing is NOW.
NFF….NFF….eenu eff eff….pay this team their 2 years emoluments o. Pay this team their 2 years emoluments o.
Minus the first team squad that dont get paid
NFF that eats at restaurants on credit. They can owe die. Won le owe pa!
Who are they not owing? They are still owing SE 1994 set. Every SE set from then down to date, they are owing one way or the other. Including Super Falcons. How can people be so shameless, owing all over the place?
NFF, pay your debts! Pay your debts! Stop demoralizing our coaches and players with tight-fistedness. Under normal circumstances, we should be topping this group comfortably. But with all the off pitch distractions, that might be a tall order!
Additionally, I feel we are ignoring the elephant in the room. We can ignore it all day, but it is still there. We are coming face to face with MO SALAH. Egypt have several dangerous forwards, but Salah is the biggest threat, of course. It is left to Rohr and co. to come up with strategies to lock the guy down. That boy can spoil our party if we’re not careful.