At the draws held in Yaoundé on Tuesday, 17 August
2021, the 24 qualified nations were allocated to four pots of six teams each,
based on the latest FIFA ranking. The top four teams were allocated to Pot One,
of which Nigeria belonged,
along with the hosts, Cameroon ,
and titleholders, Algeria
The remaining 18 teams were put in the three remaining pots according to their ranking in descending order. The 24 teams were then divided into six groups of four teams each with the top two teams of each group to qualify for the round of 16.
