The upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw, scheduled to take place in Ivory Coast on Thursday, has the potential to group together powerhouse teams like Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco, creating what could be termed a “group of death.”

The anticipation for this draw stems from the ranking-based seeding system.

Morocco, the first-ever African team to reach the semi-finals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, headlines the top seeds.

Nigeria finds itself among the second seeds, while South Africa is placed in the third seed category.

Adding surprise quarter-finalists from the 2021 AFCON, Gambia, in the fourth seed, could create an exceptionally challenging group.

Nigeria, a three-time AFCON champion, and South Africa, a former titleholder, missed being top seeds due to host country privileges.

Host nations automatically qualify for the tournament and are placed among the top seeds.

Consequently, Nigeria and South Africa share the second-seed status with Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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The draw’s rankings reflect some intriguing twists. South Africa, previously ranked above DR Congo, found themselves one place below in the seedings.

This change came shortly after South Africa defeated DR Congo in a friendly match, making the reversal somewhat ironic.

The AFCON tournament, set to take place from January 13 to February 11, 2023, will feature a diverse array of teams, including surprise qualifiers like Zambia and Mozambique, who haven’t participated in the last two editions.

Morocco, despite its historical underperformance in the competition, is expected to be the favorite, given their remarkable World Cup campaign.

However, Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui, has set high expectations, stating that he will step down if his team fails to reach at least the semi-finals.

The AFCON tournament boasts a competitive lineup, with all six top seeds and several other countries, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, DR Congo, South Africa, and Zambia, having won the championship in the past.

The absence of past champions like Ethiopia, Sudan, and Congo Brazzaville underscores the intensity of the competition.