Nigeria will face Ghana for a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while Cameroon will meet Algeria after the draw was made for the final stage of African qualifying.
All five of Africa’s places at the tournament are to be decided in a series of two-legged ties in March, with the ten group winners from the previous phase of qualifying drawn into five playoffs.
Liverpool teammates Mo Salah and Sadio Mane will go head-to-head as Egypt face Senegal, while Morocco play DR Congo and Mali face Guinea.
Ghana equalled the best ever performance by an African team when reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 but failed to qualify for the last tournament in Russia and will face a Nigeria side who have played at each of the last three tournaments.
Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 but have already been knocked out of the current edition after finishing bottom of their group, surrendering a 35-match unbeaten run in the process.
Morocco were unfortunate to be drawn in a group with both Spain and Portugal in Russia, having reached the tournament for the first time since 1998, but will be favourites to qualify in their meeting with DR Congo, whose sole World Cup appearance came back in 1974.
Meanwhile, one of Guinea and Mali will qualify for the tournament for the first time in their country’s history.
