Nigeria has been drawn in Group D in the Cameroon 2021 AFCON showpiece after much expectation.
The Super Eagles will face Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in the group stages of the AFCON Competition.
The draw which took place pitched Nigeria and giant killers like Guinea Bissau and Sudan while the lure of facing Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) Egyptian side remains a major key point in the draw.
Teams like Morocco were made to face Ghana, as Algeria will come against Ivory Coast as part of the draw.
The match between the Super Eagles and Egypt will be a key pointer in the AFCON in particular.
However, from the draw, Sudan and Guinea Bissau could be seen as the outsiders in the group in view of the presence of giants like Egypt and Nigeria in the same Group.
There is no undue advantage to any side in Group (D), especially with the fact that all the teams here would line up 11 players against each other.
There is this belief that Nigeria and Egypt would be the dominant side in Group D.
But from the way the team has fared in the last couple of games, one can only ponder who could be the group favourite among the two sides?
Nigeria may claim to have a level of football ascendancy over the North African side.
But the pedigree the Pharaohs are renowned for at the AFCON level is incredibly a positive one.
They hold the record of the most trophies won as it concerns the African showpiece and not even Nigeria comes close to this antecedence.
Egypt by all means has proven that they are a major powerhouse in African football from all indications.
This is no doubt about what they've achieved in the past as it can be easily traced back to their success three times in a row between the 2006-2010 AFCON tournament.
They've beaten fellow African giants like Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana to win the (AFCON) crown in those years.
So expect them to have some upper hand against Nigeria on this stance. Though they may not possess the talents and names of players like Gernot Rohr's Super Eagles have at their disposal.
But their seven AFCON trophy haul represents their level of excellence on the continental showpiece.
It’s left for Nigeria to prove their own credentials in the AFCON next year in Cameroon.
Nigeria has top players in the likes of Henry Onyekuru (Olympiacos), Victor Osimhen (S.S.C Napoli), Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal) and Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City) to name but a few.
With the talent in the mix for Nigeria, they can claim to have an edge over the Pharaohs of Egypt.
But it shouldn’t be on paper, it has to be proven on the pitch as both sides (Nigeria and Egypt) have been put together in the Group D of the AFCON draw.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
