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Egypt, Morocco, others await Olympics draw Wednesday

The anticipation is palpable as three African nations – Egypt, Mali, and Morocco – gear up for the highly awaited draw of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, set to hold in Saint-Denis, Paris on Wednesday.

Following their stellar performances in last year’s U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, these nations have emerged as formidable contenders, CAF Online reveals on its website on Monday.

With eyes fixed on the French capital, the trio hopes to secure advantageous groupings or brace for potentially defining challenges.

As the football world awaits with bated breath, Wednesday’s draw promises to unveil the thrilling prospects that lie ahead for these African powerhouses on the Olympic stage.

The statement read, “African interest will centre on Egypt, Mali and Morocco after their impressive qualifying campaigns at last year’s U23 Africa Cup of Nations.

“The trio will be keeping a close eye on Wednesday’s draw in the French capital, where they could potentially land dream groups or tournament-defining challenges.

“But one more African nation could yet make the draw, with Guinea facing a playoff against one of the fourth-placed Asian teams for the final spot.

“This means Africa will have four representatives at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris if Guinea wins the intercontinental playoff scheduled to be held in May.”

Africa’s representatives
Egypt, quarter-finalists in 1928 and 1964, have reached a record 12 Olympic tournaments and will hope to improve on that best-ever finish in Paris.

Morocco are no stranger to the big stage either, with this being their eighth Olympic odyssey.

The Atlas Lions were surprise winners of last year’s U23 Africa Cup of Nations to seal qualification and will believe they can go further than their previous best of the second round in 1972.

Mali completed Africa’s trio in Paris after grabbing the last automatic qualification spot via a third-place finish in the continental U23 championship.

Qualifiers for the tourney in the Asian continent are still ongoing and won’t affect the Wednesday draw.

“The full line-up of participants won’t be confirmed until early May when Asian qualifying concludes.

“France, as hosts, are already guaranteed a place in the 16-team event which kicks off proceedings at their home Olympics on July 24 – two days before the opening ceremony.

“They will be joined by a star-studded cast from around the globe, including three former Olympic champions in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico,” it further read.

Olympics draw breakdown
PUNCH Online reports from a piece of information on the Olympics website that a total of 12 women’s and 16 men’s teams will compete in the Olympic football tournaments in Paris in 2024.

The 12 women’s teams will be split into three groups of four, with the 16 men’s teams split into four groups of four. The match schedules for both tournaments will be made available following the draw.

It read, “In the women’s tournament, the top two from each group and the best two third-placed teams will advance to the knockout phase.

“In the men’s competition, the top two from each group will reach the knockout phase. From there onwards, the competition follows a classic knockout format until the finals decide the Olympic champions.”

The Paris 2024 Olympics are set to be one of the most anticipated sporting events globally.

The Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event, where thousands of athletes from around the world compete in a variety of sports.

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King Ademola Lookman Brings Out His Love

Like his father opened up, Ademola Lookman is essentially a private person, who prefers to do his stuff without all the media blitz.

But on one of his biggest days, when he was crowned Africa’s best player, he could not but make the first public appearance with the woman in his life – Jayda Love.

‘Adebobo’ would even steal a moment on his big night to kiss his American beau.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles star is still single.

Rumours of this romance first surfaced in the summer when the couple appeared to have spent the holidays together.

This was after ‘Mola’ scored his unforgettable hat-trick for Atalanta to win the UEFA Europa League in super style.

Jayda, an Information Technology specialist is based in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with a degree in public relations.

She follows Ademola Lookman and his foundation on social media.

She is also known to have visited him at his Italian base.

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FIFA Rankings: Nigeria’s Super Eagles End 2024 Ahead Of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have ended 2024 ranked as Africa’s fifth-best team in FIFA’s latest global standings, released Thursday morning, Soccernet.ng reports.

Despite a challenging end to the year that saw the team drop eight places to 44th globally, the Super Eagles still managed to hold their own against eternal continental rivals like South Africa, Cameroon, and Ghana.

This year’s ranking represents a mixed bag for Nigeria. While the team retained its fifth spot in Africa, their decline in global rankings was driven by underwhelming performances in key fixtures.

Most notably, the Super Eagles struggled during the final rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, securing just a solitary point in lackluster outings against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria were forced to a scored draw by the Cheetahs in Abidjan only for Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent strike to end up as consolation in a 2-1 home defeat to the Wasps.

Looking at year-to-year standings, at this time in 2023, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were ranked 42nd in the world but sixth on the continent.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana showed marked improvement, climbing th

Cameroon and Ghana, however, endured disappointing campaigns. Ghana’s Black Stars finished the year ranked 77th, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles within the Black Stars setup.

At the continental summit, Morocco retained their status as the continent’s best, finishing as Africa’s top-ranked team in 14th place globally.

Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), and Algeria (37th) rounded out the top four, with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, and South Africa completing the top 10.

Globally, Argentina retained their position as FIFA’s top-ranked team, followed by France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

With 1,181 international matches played across the calendar year, the rankings reflected consistent dominance from the world’s elite teams.

As Nigeria enter 2025, all eyes will be on the Super Eagles to reignite their competitive spark, with the World Cup qualifiers returning in the first quarter of the year.

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Mbappé: Would Have Been ‘Fun’ To Play With Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has said he wishes he could have played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The France international has been a teammate of other football icons but would have relished playing alongside Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain.

“I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema…” Mbappé told BeINsports.

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s going to be very difficult now — but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Ronaldo, 39, left the Spanish giants in 2018 now plays for Saudi Pro-League side Al Nassr.

Mbappé helped Madrid win the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, his second title since joining the Spanish giants in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

Speaking to young people with disabilities as part of the BeUNITED program, Mbappe, 25, said he would have never left Paris Saint-Germain had it not been to join Madrid.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” the 2018 World Cup winner said.

“I have always said that it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.”

Although Mbappé has been prolific for Madrid so far, he has faced criticism for his all-round performances with the team having suffered some high-profile defeats earlier in the season.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great,” Mbappé said.

“But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small…At first I was too hungry and it played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have passion and this competitive side.

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title is left for me? The Champions League, but I’m in the best club in the world for that.”