Cameroon and Algeria will face each other at the end of March in a two-way play-off to obtain one of the five places reserved for Africa for the World Cup in Qatar (November 21 – December 18), according to the draw made Saturday in Douala, Cameroon.
The Indomitable Lions of Vincent Aboubakar, current top scorer of the African Cup of Nations (5 goals), will receive Algeria of Riyad Mahrez, defending champion just eliminated from the CAN after a catastrophic first round.
The other poster will be between Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and Sadio Mané’s Senegal, Liverpool’s two-star strikers.
Facing the Pharaohs, the Teranga Lions (2019 CAN finalists) will have a promising armada with Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, named Fifa’s best goalkeeper of the year 2021 on Monday, Naples captain and defender Kalidou Koulibaly, or the Parisians Abdou Diallo and Idrissa Gueye.
Beyond these two mainshocks, the double confrontation between Ghana of André Ayew and Nigeria of Moses Simon should also spark.
In the other two play-offs in the Africa zone, Morocco will face the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia will face Mali.
Before the draw, the five highest teams in the Fifa ranking were divided into pot 1 (Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Nigeria), and the other five in pot 2 (Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and DR Congo). The latter must play the first leg at home.
Africa zone play-offs for the 2022 World Cup at the end of March (the first team will receive in the first leg):
Egypt – Senegal
Cameroon – Algeria
Ghana – Nigeria
RD Congo – Maroc
Mali – Tunisie
