U20 AFCON: Mali’s Adama Coulibaly calls Nigeria’s group ‘toughest’

By Monsurah Olatunji

As the countdown to Côte d’Ivoire 2025, U20 AFCON begins, all eyes will be on Nigeria, who have previously won the tournament multiple times, as they prepare for what promises to be an exhilarating tournament against some of Africa’s best young talents.

Nigeria’s quest for glory in the upcoming Africa U20 Cup of Nations has been labelled as the “toughest” by former Mali international Adama Coulibaly.

The seven-time champions will need to navigate a challenging group phase—consisting of Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa—if they are to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

The tournament, scheduled to take place in Côte d’Ivoire from April 26 to May 18, 2025, will see the top two teams from each group and the best two third-placed teams advance to the quarter-finals.

Historically, the Flying Eagles have had success against Egypt, having defeated them 1-0 in their last group match during the previous tournament.

However, they finished third in that edition and will need a strong start to build confidence this time around.

Coulibaly, who assisted during the draw held at the CAF headquarters in Cairo on Thursday, emphasized the competitiveness of Group B, which features Nigeria.

“There is no doubt that the toughest group is Group B, which has Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco,” he stated from Egypt, according to NFF.

Full Draws:

• Group A: Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, UNNIFAC (yet-to-emerge representative).
• Group B: Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco.
• Group C: Senegal (defending champions), Zambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone.