Bafana draw Nigeria in Afcon

Nigeria beat Bafana 3-1 in the last match between the two rivals.

Africa Cup of Nations defending champions Nigeria were grouped with South Africa and Sudan when the 2015 qualifying draw was made in Cairo Sunday.

The Group A line-up will be completed by the winners of a preliminary tie involving Namibia, Congo Brazzaville, Libya and Rwanda.

Nigeria can be confident of making the 16-team finals between January 17 and February 8 in Moroccan cities Agadir, Marrakech, Rabat and Tangier.

They are a bogey side for South Africa -- never losing a competitive match to Bafana Bafana (The Boys) -- and Sudan have struggled lately.

Every draw creates a 'group of death' and Group G fits the bill with Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal and one from Burundi, Botswana, Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau.

Egypt have lifted the Cup of Nations a record seven times, hosts Tunisia triumphed in 2004 and Senegal were the strongest third seeds.

Another mini-league set to generate fierce competition is Group D, which includes Ivory Coast, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The remaining place in that group will be filled by Swaziland, Sierra Leone, Gambia or the Seychelles.

Didier Drogba-skippered Ivory Coast started the last five Cup of Nations tournaments as title favourites, but the closest they came to glory was finishing runners-up twice.

Cameroon have shown signs of recovery under German coach Volker Finke after failing to make the last two African tournaments.

DR Congo rank among the sleeping giants of African football and much could hinge on who succeeds veteran Frenchman Claude le Roy as coach.

Qualifiers Draw:

Group A : Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Namibia/Congo/Libya/Rwanda

Group B : Mali, Algeria, Ethiopia, winner of SaoTome/Benin/Malawi/Chad.

Group C : Burkina Faso, Angola, Gabon, winner of Liberia/Lesotho/Kenya/Comoros.

Group D : Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DR Congo, winner of Swaziland/SierraLeone/Gambia/Seychelles.

Group E : Ghana, Togo, Guinea, winner of Madagascar/Uganda/Mauritania/EqGuinea.

Group F : Zambia, Cape Verde, Niger, winner of Tanzania/Zimbabwe/Mozambique/SouthSudan.

Group G : Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, winner of Burundi/Botswana/CAR/GuineaBissau.