2018 World Cup: Super Eagles draw Djibouti, Swaziland

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn with the winner of the game between Djibouti and Swaziland in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

In the draw ceremony at the Konstantinovsky Palace, St Petersburg, the three-time Africa champions is one of the African teams that have been seeded so they are safely into the second round of the African qualifiers.

Fifty-three African countries were in the draw, with only Zimbabwe missing following their expulsion by FIFA for failing to pay a former coach.

Africa has been allocated five spots in the finals, which will be played in Russia from 14 June 14 to July 15.

There will be three rounds of qualifying for the African sides.

FIRST ROUND

13 two-legged ties, played home and away between October 5-13, 2015:

1. Somalia v Niger
2. South Sudan v Mauritania
3. Gambia v Namibia
4. Sao Tome e Principe v Ethiopia
5. Chad v Sierra Leone
6. Comoros v Lesotho
7. Djibouti v Swaziland
8. Eritrea v Botswana
9. Seychelles v Burundi
10. Liberia v Guinea Bissau
11. Central African Republic v Madagascar
12. Mauritius v Kenya
13. Tanzania v Malawi

SECOND ROUND

The winners of the first round plus 27 highest-ranked teams in Africa will meet in this round.

All 40 teams will be paired into 20 ties, played home and away between November 9-17, 2015.

Winner 1 v Cameroon

Winner 11 v Senegal

Winner 2 v Tunisia

Winner 12 v Cape Verde Islands

Winner 3 v Guinea

Winner 13 v Algeria

Winner 4 v Congo Brazzaville

Sudan v Zambia

Winner 5 v Egypt

Libya v Rwanda

Winner 6 v Ghana

Morocco v Equatorial Guinea

Winner 7 v Nigeria

Mozambique v Gabon

Winner 8 v Mali

Benin v Burkina Faso

Winner 9 v Democratic Republic of Congo

Togo v Uganda

Winner 10 v Ivory Coast

Angola v South Africa

THIRD ROUND

Twenty winners of the second round will form five groups of four teams who will meet both home and away.

The matches will be played between October 3, 2016 and November 14, 2017.

The five group winners qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

In total, 141 teams were drawn in Saturday’s ceremony.

Here’s the full draw from across the world:

EUROPE

Group A

Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg

Group B

Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra

Group C

Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino

Group D

Wales , Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia

Group E

Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan

Group F

England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta

Group G

Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, FYR Macedonia, Liechtenstein

Group H

Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus

Group I

Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland

Nine group winners qualify. Eight runners-up with the best record against the teams first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups proceed to play-offs. Russia automatically qualify as hosts.

CONCACAF

Third round

Two-legged ties, played from August 31st to September 8th.

Curacao v El Salvador, Canada v Belize, Grenada v Haiti, Jamaica v Nicaragua, St Vincent & Grenadines v Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda v Guatemala

Group A

Honduras, Mexico, Curacao/El Salvador, Canada/Belize

Group B

Panama, Costa Rica, Grenada/Haiti, Jamaica/Nicaragua

Group C

Trinidad & Tobago, USA, St Vincent & Grenadines/Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda/Guatemala

The top two teams from each group will play in a six-team mini-league. The top three qualify and the fourth goes into an inter-continental play-off.

OCEANIA

Round one (group stage)

American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga

Round two (group stage)

Group A

Winner of round one between American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga. Plus Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tahiti

Group B

New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands

The top three teams in Group A and Group B progress to round three. That will comprise of two groups of three, with the top team in each progressing to a two-legged play-off. The winners of that qualify for the inter-continental play-off.

SOUTH AMERICA

Group stage

Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay

Top four automatically qualify. Fifth place goes into a play-off.