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IVORIAN football
legend Didier Drogba has
described Cote d’Ivoire’s
tough Africa Cup of Na-
tions group as an “exciting
challenge” after they were
drawn alongside regional
heavyweights Nigeria,
BSNSports.com.ng has
sourced.
The two-time AFCON
winners will face the three-
time champions Nigeria in
Group A, alongside Equato-
rial Guinea and Guinea-Bis-
sau following Thursday’s
final draw in Abidjan.
Drogba, Cote d’Ivoire’s
all-time leading scorer, said
playing the Super Eagles
promises to be a thrilling early test for the tournament
hosts next January.
“It is a very difficult
group. Nigeria is of course
one of the favourites and to
have them in our group, it
is going to be an exciting
challenge,” said Drogba.
“But we are up for it.
This is the beauty of a
competition like AFCON,
so we are ready to take on
the challenge and let the
best teams of this group and
all the groups qualify.”
Ivory Coast, champions
in 1992 and 2015, possess a
squad laden with elite talent
including top stars Wilfried
Zaha and Eric Bailly.
But they cannot afford to underestimate Nigeria,
whose rich array of at-
tacking options like Victor
Osimhen and Alex Iwobi
make them serious contend-
ers.
Equatorial Guinea and
Guinea-Bissau have proven
they can spring surprises
at AFCON, meaning com-
placency will be punished
in what promises to be a
hotly-contested group.
For Drogba, the tension
and excitement of such
heavyweight clashes on
home soil will inspire the
Elephants to rise to the oc-
casion when the tournament
gets underway in less than
100 days.
