African teams will try to avoid falling into the Algeria group, the last champions of the African Cup in Egypt in 2019, as the draw scheduled for Tuesday takes place in Yaoundé, the host capital of Cameroon.
The draw can lead to strong groups, as teams from Egypt, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire were ranked second in the draw.
After being crowned champion of the continent at the expense of Senegal in the last edition two years ago, the team, which is called “Desert Foxes,” has maintained its high levels, as evidenced by the achievement of a record African not to be missed in a series of 27 games in a row, after beating Tunisia in friendly in June.
But the story is not on the side of the Algerian team because the last team that managed to keep their title was Al-Masry in 2010 when they won the title for the third time in a row. Zambia got the surprise of having been crowned champion in 2012, then Nigeria a year later, then the Ivory Coast in 2015, and then Cameroon in 2017, Algeria two years ago.
Some coaches will lead their teams under pressure, such as the Franco-Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic, head of the Moroccan coaching staff, and the German Gerhard Rohr, coach of Nigeria.
The Egyptian team, led by Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, is one of the most important candidates for the title, like Cameroon, Senegal, and Tunisia.
It was reported that Cameroon had to postpone the continental championship twice due to the fallout from the Coronavirus.
Distribution of teams at different levels during the draw
Level one: Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Nigeria
Second level: Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea
Level three: Cape Verde, Gabon, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Guinea Bissau
Fourth level: Malawi, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Ethiopia, and The Gambia
