World Cup 2018: Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroon all drawn to play each other in African qualifiers

The draw for the African section of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia has been made.

Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroon, who all took part in the last tournament in Brazil two years ago, have all been drawn into the same group, meaning only one of the countries will reach the competition next time around.

Nigeria and Algeria enjoyed successful tournaments as they both reached the last 16 stage in Brazil, while Cameroon were eliminated at the group stage having lost all three of their matches.

However, the tables have been turned in the 24 months since the last World Cup, and it is Nigeria and Algeria whose outlooks are bleakest.

Both teams are currently without managers, while Cameroon have lost just two of their last 13 matches.

They are joined in Group B by Zambia.

Ghana, who have also qualified for the last three tournament finals, will be up against Egypt in Group E as well as Congo and Uganda.

Egypt have been crowned continental champions more times than any other country but only played at the 1934 and 1990 World Cup, an increasing source of frustration for the country.

Senegal are the top seeds in Group F where their principle opposition is likely to come from 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa. Burkina Faso and the Cape Verde Islands are in the same group.

Full groups

Group A

• Tunisia
• DR Congo
• Guinea
• Libya

Group B

• Algeria
• Nigeria
• Cameroon
• Zambia

Group C

• Ivory Coast
• Mali
• Morocco
• Gabon

Group D

• Senegal
• Cape Verde
• South Africa
• Burkina Faso

Group E

• Ghana
• Egypt
• Congo
• Uganda