2022 W/Cup 2ndR Qualifiers: Super Eagles know opponents today
Seventeen Months after crashing out in the first round of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and seven months after finishing third in the Nations cup in Egypt, Super Eagles are set to know opponents in the second phase of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup to be hosted by Qatar.
The draw of the second phase is billed for the Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo today.
Nigeria has been placed in Pot 1 alongside Nations Cup Champions Algeria, finalists Senegal and fourth place finishers Tunisia. Others countries in Pot 1 are 2019 Nations cup hosts Egypt,2021 Nations Cup hosts Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and Congo DR.
The 14 first-round winners will be joined in the draw by the 26 highest African nations in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World ranking (as of December 2019).
The 40 teams will be drawn into ten groups of four, with only the section winners advancing to the third round. Second group phase begins in March 2020 and will end in October 2021.
Survivors of the second round will be drawn into five two legged knockout ties to be played in November 2021.
Nigeria first appeared at the world cup in 1994 in USA finishing in the round of 16. Should the Eagles qualify for the 2022 World cup in Qatar, it would be the 7th time the most populous country in Africa will be showcasing her football skills at the World cup described as the zenith of football celebration.
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Pot 2: Burkina Faso, South Africa, Guinea, Uganda, Cape Verde, Gabon, Benin, Zambia, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire
Pot 3: Madagascar, Mauritania, Libya, Mozambique, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Niger, Central African Republic, Namibia, Guinea-Bissau
Pot 4: Malawi, Angola, Togo, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Liberia,Djibouti