Stars Seeded For World Cup Qualifiers

Ghana have been seeded for the African qualifiers to the 2014 Fifa World Cup finals ahead of the draw in Rio de Janeiro tomorrow. This means the Black Stars will avoid playing some of best teams in the eliminators. The 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists are in Pot 1 together with stellar countries Ivory Coast, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria and Tunisia. The pool includes the top 10 African countries in the latest Fifa rankings released on Wednesday. The Black Stars will draw an opponent each from the rest of the three pots to form one of the ten groups in phase II of the qualifiers. A draw will split the 10 group winners into five two-leg ties, with the aggregate winners qualifying for the finals in Brazil. Twenty-four (24) will begin the qualifiers in the first round. The 12 countries in Pot 5 will be drawn against the 12 from Pot 6, who will play at home first. Aggregate winners will advance to the second round. First qualifying round: Pot 5 (countries ranked 29-40): Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Liberia, Tanzania, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Burundi, Madagascar Pot 6 (ranked 41-52): Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Swaziland, Comoros Islands, Lesotho, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sao Tome e Principe The 12 countries in Pot 5 will be drawn against the 12 from Pot 6, who will play at home first. Aggregate winners will advance to the second round. Second qualifying round: Pot 1 (ranked 1-10): Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria, Tunisia Pot 2 (ranked 11-20): Gabon, Libya, Morocco, Guinea, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Mali, Cape Verde Islands Pot 3 (ranked 21-28 plus two others): Benin, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Niger, Angola, Gambia plus two first round pairings Pot 4: the remaining 10 qualifiers from the first round. Ghanasoccernet.com