Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been drawn against host nation Egypt in the same group for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to hold next year.

The draws for the 17th edition of the biennial tournament were conducted at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, this evening.

Twelve nations distributed into three groups of four teams each will be competing in the next year’s championship billed to kickoff on February 19 to March 11, 2023.

Nigeria, the most successful country in the competition, was drawn alongside Egypt, which is the third most successful, and Mozambique and Senegal in ‘tough’ Group A.

The Flying Eagles have won the competition seven times, with the triumph coming in 2015, Ghana, the reigning champions of competition, came second with four titles and Egypt is the third most successful country in the competition with four titles also.

CAF representatives for the FIFA U-20 World Cup would also be determined in Egypt, with top four countries automatically qualifying for the competition billed for Indonesia next year.

The full draws: 

GROUP A: Egypt, Mozambique, Senegal, and Nigeria.

GROUP B: Uganda, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo.

GROUP C: Gambia, Tunisia, Benin, and Zambia.