Julius Okorie
Super Eagles and their Tunisian counterparts, the Carthage Eagles, have met at various competitions a record 21 times since 1961.
In those 21 times, the Super Eagles have won six times, lost seven times and drawn eight times.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAt the draw for the forthcoming 35th AFCON, billed for Morocco, from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, held on Monday night, the Super Eagles were drawn against Carthage Eagles of Tunisia.
The question is, can the Carthage Eagles again play the spoiler for the Super Eagles that will be led on this occasion by new coach and former Mali Coach, Eric Chelle?
At the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, the Tunisians stopped Eagles from going beyond the round of 16 under then interim coach, Austin Eguavoen.
All it took was a 47th minute goal from Tunisia international, Youssef Msakni, who has netted 23 goals for the Carthage Eagles in his 102 appearances since hitting the senior national team in 2010.
After that decider by Msakni on that occasion at the Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua, every attempt made by William Troost-Ekong captained Super Eagles failed to remedy the situation.
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The draw concluded at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat, Morocco, Monday night, also placed Eagles against Uganda and Tunisia in Group C.
On paper, both Eagles, should advance from the group, but that of course does not rule out the possibility of surprises from Tanzania and Uganda, considered underdogs in this group.
The Super Eagles who are seeking a fourth AFCON title will be hoping to finally achieve the dream in Morocco after missing it at the last edition by whiskers in Cote d Ivoire, where they lost narrowly to hosts and eventual champions, Elephants of Cote d Ivoire.
Eagles’ new coach, Eric Chelle, who was present at the draw on Monday night, had with him team administrator, Dayo Enebi, and chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical and Development Committee, Sharif Inuwa.
Ahead of the draw, the Super Eagles who ranked the fifth-best team in Africa, were positioned in Pot 1 alongside other strong teams, including seven-time champions Egypt, reigning cup holder, Ivory Coast, two-time winners, Algeria, hosts Morocco, and 2021 champions, Senegal.
Full Draw for 35th AFCON In Morocco:
Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Group F: Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
