FIFA World Cup 2022 African qualifiers third round: Preview, schedule & stars to watch
Your one-stop shop for the third round of CAF World Cup 2022 qualifiers taking place on March 25 and March 29, including top storylines, full schedule and which players to look out for.
Football
The third round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to take place this weekend, with 10 teams vying for five spots to compete at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 21 November to 8 December.
Here's all the information you need to know ahead of the final qualifiers.
Schedule and format
CAF has employed a three-round qualifying format to determine the five nations that will compete at the World Cup later this year:
First round: 28 teams (ranked 27–54 in Africa based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2019) played home-and-away matches over two legs in September 2019. The 14 winners advanced to the second round.
Second round: 40 teams (ranked 1–26 in Africa plus the14 first-round winners) were divided into ten groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches between September 2021 and November 2021. The ten group winners advanced to the third round.
Third round: The ten second-round group winners play home-and-away matches over two legs, with the teams seeded based on FIFA World Rankings (the lower-ranked teams will play the first leg at home). The five winners qualify for the World Cup. The match-ups are as follows:
- Egypt vs Senegal
- Cameroon vs Algeria
- Ghana vs Nigeria
- Democratic Republic of the Congo vs Morocco
- Mali vs Tunisia
The first leg of all matches will take place on Friday 25 March. The second leg follows four days later on Tuesday 29 March.
Egypt vs Senegal
Captain Mohamed Salah was unable to join Egypt for a portion of the Pharaoh's qualifying campaign in 2021 as Liverpool FC, Salah's club team, refused to release the forward due to coronavirus restrictions. However, he was able to join his national squad later in the second round, and despite failing to score, helped lead Egypt to an undefeated record to advance as Group F winners.
Salah, 29, is one of the best footballers in the world; he is a two-time African Footballer of the Year award winner, a two-time Premier League golden boot winner, and a Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup winner.
The Egyptian captain has been in scintillating form for Liverpool this season and currently leads the Premier League goalscoring charts with 20 strikes to go along with 10 assists.
Salah will be going up against club teammate Sadio Mane in what is undoubtedly the stand-out fixture of the third round.
Mane, 29, is Senegal's top men's scorer with 29 strikes, and found the back of the net three times in the second round of qualifying as The Lions of Teranga won Group H.
Mane, who also won the Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Liverpool, will need to be on top form against Egypt as Senegal bid to qualify for the World Cup for just the third time.
Senegal and Egypt last met in the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which was won by Senegal 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 0-0 after 90 minutes. Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy saved two penalties, while Mane converted the decisive spot-kick to earn Senegal its first-ever AFCON title.
Cameroon vs Algeria
Two-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Algeria face Cameroon in another barnburner of a fixture in this final round of qualifying.
In Islam Slimani, Algeria possess the current leading scorer in qualifying; the Sporting CP forward has bagged seven goals to cement his place as his nation's top men's goalscorer. The Greens will be led by captain and Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez, who scored five goals himself as Algeria topped Group A.
Cameroon will rely on the skills of Famara Diédhiou to defeat Algeria; the towering 1.92m striker has scored four goals in qualifying for The Indomitable Lions.
Ghana vs Nigeria
Nigeria have qualified for more World Cups than any other African nation (six) save Cameroon (seven), and are favourites for this tie following Ghana's unexpected AFCON collapse.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen (four goals) has led Nigeria's attack during qualifying, but the Black Stars possess elite talent in their own ranks, with Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey among the standout names.
DR Congo vs Morocco
DR Congo are vying for their first World Cup appearance since 1974, when they failed to advance from the group stage. Standing in the way of the Leopards are Morocco, who were present at the 2018 World Cup but also failed to advance from the group stage.
Mali vs Tunisia
Mali could qualify for their first-ever World Cup when they take on Tunisia over the course of two legs this weekend. Ibrahima Koné has found the back of the net five times in qualifying for Mali, and will be relied on again against Tunisia.