Malawi to face Tanzania in World Cup qualifying

Malawi national football team, the Flames, have been drawn in the same World Cup 2018 qualifying group as Tanzania’s Taifa Stars.

The draw for the 2018 World Cup qualifying stage took place in St Petersburg host nation Russia on Saturday.

Winners of Malawi and Tanzania will face Highest-ranked African team Algeria, who took eventual 2014 world champions Germany to extra time in a last-16 clash in Brazil.

The two-leg first-round ties are scheduled to be played between October 5 and 13 with the second-round fixtures to be staged between November 9 and 17 this year.

Places in the group stage await the 20 second-round winners with the five table-toppers going to Russia.

World Cup 2010 host South Africa have been handed a tough draw in the second round as they clash with Angola.

Cameroon start campaigning for a record-extending eighth appearance by an African team with an away game against Somalia or Niger.

Nigeria, the second most frequent African qualifiers, look set to tackle Swaziland, who should eliminate bottom-of-the-rankings Djibouti in a first round confined to the weaker nations.

Cup of Nations title-holders Ivory Coast and Ghana, the team they defeated on penalties in the final last February, are chasing fourth consecutive World Cup appearances.

The Ivorians begin with a visit to Liberia or Guinea-Bissau while Ghana travel to the Comoros Islands off the south-east coast or Lesotho.

Egypt are winners of the Cup of Nations a record seven times but have repeatedly struggled to qualify for the World Cup. They have drawn either Chad or Sierra Leone.

Debutants South Sudan face Mauritania and Mauritius play Kenya in the first round.

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