#tournament-draw

#tournament-draw

The tournament kicks off on Sunday, 21 December when the hosts take on Comoros at Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium at 19:00 GMT. The pressure is on the Atlas Lions, who are Africa's highest-ranked nation at 11th in the world but have not won Afcon since 1976. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, who is still looking for his first title, will hope to captain Egypt to a record-extending eighth continental crown after finishing as a runner-up at the 2017 and 2021 editions.

The co-host should expect to stick around at its own party until at least the round of 32 after being grouped with Paraguay, Australia and the winner of a European playoff between Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo and Romania in Friday's draw, attended by President Donald Trump in Washington. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino will take nothing for granted but with none of those nations ranked in the top 20 by FIFA it would be a major disappointment if his team failed to advance