Ghana will know their opponents for the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup on Saturday when the draw for the preliminary round takes place in Brazil.
The Black Stars, who excelled in the global tournament in 2006 and 2010, have been seeded in the African draw.
This means Ghana will not play the top ten teams in Africa at the moment which gives them a good chance of reaching the final phase of the qualifiers.
They will avoid playing Ivory Coast, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria and Tunisia.
But with Morocco, Zambia and Mali in the second pot, it is not likely to be a walk in the park for the Black Stars.
Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi, who is in Rio de Janeiro for the event, says they want a good draw to ensure that they make their third successive appearance at the World Cup.
“We are hoping that the draw will be kind to us so we can achieve our vision of keeping Ghana among the best football countries in the world,” Nyantakyi told GHANAsoccernet.com.
“But we are not relying on a good draw to take us through. We will be relying on the fighting spirit, talent and hard work of our players to ensure qualification.
“Brazil is the home of football and to qualify for the World Cup there will be a real boost for Ghana football in many ways.
“We as administrators together with government and our sponsors will make sure that everything is done to ensure qualification for this tournament.”
Ghana 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.
While some preliminary qualifiers have already taken place, the competition will begin properly later this year and be completed by November 2013.
The World Cup will be staged from June 12 to July 13 in 2014.
Five African nations will qualify for the 2014 World Cup.
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 from November’s two-legged ties 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, The Gambia plus two first round pairings.
Pot 4: the remaining 10 qualifiers from the first round
The 10 four-team groups will be formed by drawing together one team from each pot and each country plays three opponents at home and away.
The matches will start in June 2012 and conclude in September 2013.
THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND
A draw will split the 10 group winners into five two-leg ties, with the aggregate winners qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Ghanasoccernet .com
