Liverpool and Egypt winger Mohamed Salah will not be in action in Africa during the group stage of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup because of a coronavirus restriction that goes into effect on Wednesday.
Sala is travelling back to his homeland of Egypt from the United Kingdom, which is currently on the UK’s travel “red list,” and would have to quarantine for 10 days if he returns, which would sideline him for four games.
In addition, both the World Football Federation (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to exempt African footballers participating in the World Cup from having to pay VAT.
While the African group schedule is already delayed three times, other European countries could also be affected as the pandemic wreaks havoc with the entire group schedule.
AFP Sport takes a look at the 10 four-team groups and which countries have a chance of advancing to the next stage of qualification.
A group
In preparation for a June game against Africa’s leading scorers, unbeaten teams since November 2018, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Djibouti are barred from playing at home.
Everyone must use neutral venues, as their stadiums and/or pitches are not in accordance with international standards, making Algeria-led by Riyad Mahrez all but guaranteed to go through.
a large-scale independent survey
When it comes to the World Cup qualifying process, Tunisia is one of the most successful African countries, having reached the finals five times.
It would be quite shocking if they do not come out on top in visits to Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, and Zambia, all of which are on the rise.
the Group C girls
Though Gernot Rohr, the coach of the Nigerian national team, asks his players to take it slow, he is aware that missing out on the places above Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, and Liberia will result in his termination.
The Super Eagles has made it to every finals since 2006, and Coach Rohr has enough talented players to keep that streak going.
When the draw was made in Cairo two years ago, Group D Cameroon were paired with Serge Aurier-co-captained Ivory Coast, the second seeds that every coach wanted to avoid.
southern Africa’s modest sides – Malawi and Mozambique finish a section that looks like a two-horse race between Cameroon and Ivory Coast, who have qualified for seven FIFA World Cups.
The top four seeds of group E Only Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda do not have any previous World Cup qualifiers in common with any other group.
Considering that Uganda have gone down, Kenya have only worsened their chances, and Rwanda are 35th in Africa, it is likely that a Malian team, which includes Southampton midfielder Moussa Djenepo, will triumph.
Group F
Egypt holds the record for the most Africa Cup of Nations victories, having done so a record seven times, but the same cannot be said for their World Cup performances, as they have reached the finals only twice since Africa’s first round of official qualifying began.
Many times we speak of easy groups, and then fail. This was stated by coach Hossam el Badry ahead of the Egyptian national team’s games against Gabon, Libya, and Angola, who will be looking to use their top goal scorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, against them.
Group G Automatic 2010 entrants are considered to be hosts and South Africa have not made it to a World Cup in the last 20 years. Even though Hugo Broos takes over as the team’s new coach, things are only likely to get worse as the team failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
The Belgian, who lead Cameroon to Africa’s Nations Cup crown in 2017, has assembled a young, largely inexperienced team with an eye on the future, putting Ghana at the top of the standings.
H House
Prediction #1: This appears to be the easiest section to predict, as African powerhouse Senegal has Mane from Liverpool, and that team also includes Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Namibia, and Togo.
Aside from the added obstacles of frequent bickering officials and the eight nations not being allowed to host matches, Namibia also faces other hardships such as no football being played locally for several years due to bickering officials.
The first group
Both Morocco and Bosnia and Herzegovina-born coach Vahid Halilhodzic face high expectations, as their contracts stipulate that a failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup will result in their removal.
With home games against Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Sudan, Morocco are capable of collecting maximum points, but visits to Conakry and Omdurman will be very difficult for a team that includes Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech.
teams in group J
While all four countries are affected by conflict, only two of them, DR Congo and Benin, will participate in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
honorable mentions In 1974, when the country was first known as Zaire, DR Congo were World Cup qualifiers, and the country hired a coach from Argentina, Hector Cuper, who helped Egypt reach the last World Cup.
