The fresh group stage draw was held on Sunday. The new draw became necessary after Cote d’Ivoire pulled out as the competition’s hosts, and the country was replaced by Tunisia in the pots for participating teams.

Egypt was announced as the new tournament host with less than a month to the event.

Nigeria had been pitted against South Africa, Egypt and Morocco in the initial draw held in February.

For the new draw, all participating countries were divided into three groups. Two groups comprise four teams each, while one has five countries.

The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the knockout. The best two third-placed teams will also get quarter-final slots. The semi-finalists will qualify automatically for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile.

The 24th U-20 AFCON is billed to be held from April 27 to May 18.

The Flying Eagles finished third in the last AFCON after losing to The Gambia in the semi-final.