Former Super Eagles defender Ifeanyi Udeze has urged Nigeria not to take any opponent lightly in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, warning that complacency could prove costly after the team’s troubled 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Saturday PUNCH reports.
Nigeria were drawn in Group L alongside Tanzania, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, a group many supporters consider manageable for the three-time African champions. Udeze, however, is taking no such view.
“I am not surprised that Tanzania is already bragging. They have every right to do so because they are in our group. I just want the Super Eagles to take the games seriously and not underrate any team in our group,” Udeze told Brila FM.
“We must play every team with our full strength, and the rest will be history. I wish the Super Eagles all the very best in the qualifying campaign.”
None of the three opponents are unfamiliar to Nigeria. The Super Eagles beat Madagascar home and away during the 2012 AFCON qualifying series and shared honours with Guinea-Bissau in the race to the 2023 finals in Ivory Coast — Guinea-Bissau winning in Abuja before Nigeria claimed three points in Bissau. Tanzania were in the same qualifying group as Nigeria for the 2017 AFCON, with the sides drawing in Dar es Salaam before Nigeria won 1-0 in Uyo through a Kelechi Iheanacho long-range strike, though Nigeria still failed to qualify for that tournament in Gabon. More recently, the two sides met at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, with Nigeria winning 2-1 in the group stage.
The draw was conducted at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters, with former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong serving as one of the draw assistants. A total of 48 teams will contest the qualifiers across 12 groups, with 24 teams qualifying for the finals.
One complication in Nigeria’s path is the presence of Tanzania, who have qualified automatically as co-hosts. As a result, only the group winners will advance to the finals from Group L, rather than the top two teams that will qualify from groups without a co-host.
Nigeria open their campaign at home against Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on September 23, 2026. The qualifying series runs across three international windows, concluding in March 2027.
The 2027 AFCON, which runs from June 19 to July 17, will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania — the first time the competition has been staged across three countries.
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