Three African countries will discover their opponents for the eagerly anticipated Men’s Olympic Football Tournament when the draw takes place in Paris on Wednesday.

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.

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.

For the Pharaohs, this tournament represents a record 13th appearance at the Olympic football event dating back to their debut in 1920.

Coach Rogerio Micale has assembled a talented young squad spearheaded by prodigious striker Mostafa Mohamed, with ambitions of improving on their best-ever quarter-final finishes in 1928 and 1964.

Morocco are no strangers 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 complete Africa’s trio in Paris after grabbing the last automatic qualification spot via a third-place finish in the continental U23 championship.

The Eagles are relatively inexperienced at this level, with their 2004 quarter-final showing in Athens remaining their only previous Olympic foray.

But under highly-rated coach Alou Badra Diallo, this group of precocious young talents could well surpass the exploits of their predecessors.

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.

Records of the three automatic representatives of Africa

Egypt

Head coach: Rogerio Micale How they qualified: Reached the final of U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Previous tournaments: 12 (Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928, Berlin 1936, London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Rome 1960, Toyko 1964, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, London 2012, Tokyo 2020) Best result: Quarter-final (Amsterdam 1928, Tokyo 1964)

Mali

Head coach: Alou Badra Diallo How they qualified: Came third at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Previous tournaments: 1 (Athens 2004) Best result: Quarter-final (Athens 2004)

Morocco

Head coach: Tarik Sektioui How they qualified: Won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Previous tournaments: 7 (Tokyo 1964, Munich 1972, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, London 2012) Best result: Second round (Munich 1972)

-CAF