The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn in Group C of the African qualifying series for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. Forty countries across the CAF region were divided into 10 groups of four teams each for the penultimate stage of the continental journey to Qatar.
Nigeria, three-time African champions, will play Cape Verde, Central African Republic, and Liberia in the second round of the continental qualification route. The winner of the group will qualify for the final round of the qualifiers, which will be played on a knockout basis with the eventual five winners advancing to the world cup in Qatar.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) explained that the final round will have the 10 teams drawn into five home and away ties, with the five winners securing the ticket to represent Africa at the tournament scheduled for 21 November to 18 December 2022 in Qatar.
The group phase of the qualifiers starts in October 2020 and will last until October 2021.
See the groups below:
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, Cote d’Ivoire, 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, Namibia, Togo
Group I
Morocco, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan
Group J
DR Congo, Benin, Madagascar, Tanzania
Wilfried Ndidi has implored the Nigeria national team to make it to the playoff round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers after they were drawn in Group C alongside Cape Verde, the Central African Republic and Liberia.
It is a group many have seen as easy as the three countries are ranked way beneath Nigeria (31st) in 78th, 109th and 152nd in the world, respectively.
Ndidi is, however, of the opinion that they shouldn’t be taken likely so the desired job can be done.
“This is the World Cup, no room for complacency. Ndidi said in a statement posted on the official Super Eagles Twitter account.
“Every game must be taken seriously. Our first game is going to be the most important as well as all our home games, and even away games.
“We must make it to the 3rd round.”
The draw comprises of 10 groups with the winner for each group going on to the final play-off round where the five teams to represent the African continent at the Mundial in Qatar will be affirmed.
