Nigeria will be looking to win their fourth Africa Cup of Nations title when they participate in the 2021 edition in Cameroon.
The Super Eagles won their third and most recent title in 2013 when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 courtesy of a goal scored by Sunday Mba in South Africa. Prior to this trophy, Nigeria, who have made a total of 18 appearances at the Afcon finals, had also won in 1980 and 1994.
With the draw for the Cameroon tournament being conducted on Tuesday at Yaounde Conference Centre, Cameroon, Goal brings you a brief history of the teams Gernot Rohr’s men will face in Group D of the preliminary round.
Egypt
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The Pharaohs are the most successful team in the Africa Cup of Nations, having won the tournament a record seven times.
Egypt have also made the most appearances in the competition at 24, two ahead of Ghana and they first took part in the competition in the inaugural edition in 1957, where they beat Sudan 2-1 in the semi-final to book a place in the final against Ethiopia, whom they beat 4-0 to win their first title.
They took part in the second edition in 1959 and retained the title, but relinquished the crown in 1962 when they lost 4-2 to Ethiopia in the final.
They eventually won the other titles in the 1986 edition on home soil, Burkina Faso in 1998, 2006 again at home, Ghana in 2008, and Angola in 2010.
Despite being the host of the last tournament held in Cairo in 2019, Egypt failed to win the title after they were surprisingly knocked out by South Africa in the Round of 16, despite three wins in the group stage.
Egypt, who have made only two appearances in the World Cup - in 1934 and 1990 – were at one time ranked ninth in the World Fifa rankings, becoming one of the few African national teams to enter the world's top ten.
The Pharaohs, who are ranked 46 in the world, are currently being handled by Hossam El Badry, who was appointed in September 2019, to succeed Javier Aguirre.
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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is one of the key players for Egypt heading into the competition in Yaounde and will captain the side if he stays fit and is available.
Other are Ittihad Jeddah's defender Ahmed Hegazi, winger Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan of Aston Villa, Arsenal's midfielder Mohamed Elneny, striker Ahmed 'Kouka' Hassan of Olympiacos FC, and Galatasaray striker Mostafa Mohamed.
Sudan
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Sudan is one of the first countries to participate in the Afcon finals and was also the first host country in 1957.
During the 1950s to 1970s, Sudan was one of Africa's best teams and had won the tournament in 1970, also held at home, just after Gaafar Nimeiry's coup, with its greatest striker being Mustafa Azhari Alawad.
After the 1970 appearance, the Falcons of Jeddah were forced to wait for 32 years before taking part in another competition and it was in 2008 where they finished bottom of their group after three straight defeats.
However, Sudan would soon register its best performance in recent times in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, reaching the quarter-finals where they suffered a 3-0 defeat against Zambia.
In total, they have made eight appearances at Afcon – 1957, 1959, 1963, 1970, 1972, 1976, 2008, and 2012.
Sudan are currently handled by French coach Hubert Velud, who was appointed in February 2020.
The team, which is currently ranked 121, qualified for the Cameroon event after beating South Africa 2-0 in the final group stage match at Al-Hilal Stadium in Khartoum, to reach 12 points and finish second in the group.
Strikers Saifeldin Maki and Mohamed Abdel Rahman, who were instrumental for the team in the group stage campaign, will be the key players to push them to victory in Yaounde.
Guinea Bissau
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Guinea Bissau have only made three appearances at the Afcon finals - starting with their debut in 2017.
During the competition held in Gabon, Guinea Bissau managed a 1-1 draw in their opening Group A fixture, then lost 2-1 against Cameroon and 2-0 against Burkina Faso to finish top of the group.
In 2019, Guinea-Bissau won their Group in the qualifiers to reach their second straight finals and in March 2021, they qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Guinea Bissau qualified for the 2021 edition after finishing as runners-up to Senegal in Group I. Senegal topped the table after managing 14 points, Guinea Bissau had nine points, the Democratic Republic of the Congo came third on eight points while Eswatini finished bottom on two points.
The team is currently ranked 109 in the world and their highest ranking was position 26 on November 26, 2016, while the lowest ranking was position 195 in February 2010.
Their biggest win in history was the 7-2 win against Benin on November 3, 201, while their biggest defeat came on July 22, 2017, when they suffered a 7-0 thumping against Guinea in Conakry.
The Djurtus are handled by Baciro Cande, and some of their key players include Frederic Mendy, who turns out for Vitoria Setubal, and midfielder Mauro Daniel Rodrigues Teixeira, who plays for Sion.
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