January 22, (THEWILL) – In the African World Cup play-offs draw in Douala on Saturday, Nigeria, the top performers so far in the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, were drawn with arch rivals Ghana.
Ghana’s Black Stars will play first, with both legs taking place between March 21 and 29, with the aggregate winners earning a spot in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In the other matches, Egypt will face Senegal, Cameroon will face Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo will face Morocco, and Mali will face Tunisia.
Only Mali has never qualified for the World Cup, while Cameroon holds the record for the most appearances by an African side, with seven between 1982 and 2014.
Nigeria overcame a tumultuous build-up to the Cup of Nations, including the resignation of German coach Gernot Rohr, to win all three of their group matches in Cameroon.
While the Super Eagles prepare for a last-16 match against Tunisia on Sunday, Ghana was a surprise first-round exit, finishing bottom of a group after a 3-2 loss to Comoros underdogs.
Milovan Rajevac, a Serbian-born Ghana coach who led the Black Stars to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2010, claimed he would not resign after the humbling defeat.
Facing rumours of a sack, he made his focus clear when he said: “My primary ambition from the time I took over as coach last October was to qualify Ghana for the World Cup in Qatar.”
Nigeria is attempting to qualify for the World Cup for the seventh time, having missed only one of the seven editions since 1994. Ghana’s third and final appearance came in 2014.
Algeria, the defending champions and early exitees, will meet Cameroon, another in-form team led by captain Vincent Aboubakar, who has five goals in three group games.
After going 35 games without losing since last year, Algeria was defeated by Equatorial Guinea before being outplayed by the Ivory Coast, resulting in an embarrassing early departure.
Carlos Queiroz, the coach of Egypt, has stated that the World Cup is his top aim, adding, “the main goal when I signed was to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
