African champions Algeria to face Burkina Faso in World Cup qualifying

Pulse News Agency International by AFP

January 21, 2020 6:14 PM

African football champions Algeria, led by Riyad Mahrez, will take on Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Niger in the second round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup after Tuesday's draw.

Algeria won last year's Africa Cup of Nations

Other heavyweights such as Senegal, relying on 2020 African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah's Egypt will take on less-fancied nations.

Madagascar, surprise quarter-finalists in last year's Africa Cup of Nations, will face the Democratic Republic of Congo.

All five African teams failed to reach the knockout stage of the 2018 World Cup, the first time that had happened since 1982.

Forty teams will compete in 10 groups after the draw in Cairo.

Winners from the first round join 26 top-seeded sides based on FIFA's world rankings.

The matches will take place from March 2020 until October 2021.

Group winners will advance to the third round which will be played in November 2021. The five winners of the final round will secure berths in the 2022 World Cup.

African 2022 World Cup qualifying, second-round, draw:

Group A

Algeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Djibouti

Group B

Tunisia, Zambia, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea

Group C

Nigeria, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Liberia

Group D

Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Malawi

Group E

Mali, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda

Group F

Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Angola

Group G

Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia

Group H

Senegal, Congo Brazzaville, Namibia, Togo

Group I

Morocco, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan

Group J

DR Congo, Benin, Madagascar, Tanzania

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Pulse News Agency International by AFP