Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen has pushed back against the popular reading of the Super Eagles’ AFCON 2027 qualifying draw, insisting the group is harder than the rankings suggest, Footynaija.com reports.
The Super Eagles were placed in Group L alongside Madagascar, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau following Tuesday’s draw at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo.
On paper, Nigeria’s opponents rank well below them. The Eagles sit 26th in the world, while Madagascar are 104th, Tanzania 113th, and Guinea-Bissau 132nd. But Eguavoen, speaking in a recent report, refused to take that gap at face value.
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“A lot of people think it’s an easy group, but I don’t think so,” he said.
“However, considering our pedigree and our performance at the last AFCON, where we did brilliantly well, I believe we can scale through. We just have to approach it one game at a time.”
Guinea-Bissau gave Nigeria nightmares before
Eguavoen has firsthand experience of what Guinea-Bissau can do. He handled the Super Eagles when both nations clashed in the 2021 AFCON group stage in Cameroon, a game Nigeria won 2-0 but not before the Djurtus made them work for it. He also watched closely as the West Africans ran Jose Peseiro’s side close in the 2023 AFCON qualifying series, winning 1-0 in Abuja before Nigeria levelled the tie with a 1-0 win in the second leg.
“I remember Guinea-Bissau gave us a run for our money. They are not a bad side at all,” Eguavoen said.
“When Jose Peseiro was in charge, it was also a very tight game, although we eventually overcame them.”
Tanzania’s early burst still fresh in Eguavoen’s memory
He also flagged Tanzania, despite Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over the Taifa Stars in the 2025 AFCON group stage in Morocco. Eguavoen remembered that Tanzania started that match on the front foot before the Eagles settled and eventually took control.
“Tanzania will also be stubborn opponents. We met them at the last AFCON, and they were tough in the first 15 to 20 minutes before we eventually came out on top,” he said.
Tanzania’s status as co-hosts of AFCON 2027, alongside Kenya and Uganda, adds another complication. Because all three host nations qualify automatically, Tanzania’s place in the finals is already secured regardless of how they perform in Group L.
In practice, that means Nigeria cannot count on collecting maximum points when they host Tanzania in November. East Africans could approach those fixtures with different motivations. More critically, only the group winner earns a qualifying berth from Group L, raising the stakes for every match Nigeria play.
Madagascar, the group’s dark horses
Eguavoen did not specifically address Madagascar in his remarks, but Nigerian football fans don’t need reminding of what the Barea are capable of.
Madagascar beat Nigeria 2-0 at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt in one of the more embarrassing results in recent Super Eagles history. The island nation also finished second in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group ahead of Mali, which speaks to the discipline and structure coach Romuald Rakotondrabe has instilled.
Nigeria kick off the campaign with a home fixture against Madagascar on September 21, 2026. The qualifying series runs across three FIFA international windows and wraps up between March 22 and 30, 2027.
“I still believe we will qualify, but it is going to be a very tough group,” Eguavoen said.
