YAOUNDE: Defending champions Algeria were drawn with the Ivory Coast in a tough group for next January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals while hosts Cameroon will kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso.

Algeria, who won the 2019 edition in Egypt, will not have to play the Ivorians until their last Group ‘E’ game, by which time both countries could have advanced from the first round at the expense of underdogs Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Cameroon, hosting the tournament 50 years after their only previous time, have a tricky game against Burkina Faso in Yaounde in Group ‘A’ on January 9 and will also face Ethiopia and the Cape Verde Islands, who have been their bogey side in recent qualifying competitions.

Record seven-time African champions Egypt share Group ‘D’ with three-time winners Nigeria, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, who have been transformed from minnows to qualifying three times in a row.

Sadio Mane-inspired Senegal, beaten by Algeria in both the group stage and the final two years ago, will be hotly fancied to top Group ‘B’, which includes Zimbabwe, Guinea and Malawi.

Tunisia, who have qualified for every Cup of Nations since 1994, are in Group ‘F’ with Mali, Mauritania and the Gambia, who along with the Comoros are debutants.

Morocco, whose only Cup of Nations success came in 1976, and four-time champions Ghana look the strongest contenders in Group ‘C’, which the Comoros and Gabon complete.

With the top two teams in each group plus the four best third-placed finishers advancing to the knockout stage, it is not expected there will be any early casualties among the fancied sides.

Two stadiums in Yaounde plus newly built or refurbished venues in Bafoussam, Douala, Garoua and Limbe will be used in the tournament, which was postponed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It concludes on February 6 next year.

Cameroon were supposed to host the 2019 finals but were stripped of the right by the Confederation of African Football when inspectors found they were not ready. Egypt stepped in as hosts at the last minute.

Draw:

Group ‘A’: Cameroon (hosts), Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Ethiopia.

Group ‘B’: Guinea, Malawi, Senegal, Zimbabwe.

Group ‘C’: Comoros Islands, Gabon, Ghana, Morocco.

Group ‘D’: Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan.

Group ‘E’: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone.

Group ‘F’: Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Tunisia.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2021