Who could Nigeria face in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying draw?

With all 20 countries set for Friday’s draw in Cairo, we take a look at the possible opponents for the Super Eagles - nightmare and dream groups

As the race for the 2018 Fifa World Cup heats up, Africa's five potential representatives are gearing up for the final round of qualifiers for Russia. The 20 teams left in the Third Round will know their opponents when Caf holds the draw in Cairo on Friday, June 24.

For Nigeria, they will face some outstanding odds on their path to a sixth World Cup appearance having been zoned in Pot Two alongside Egypt, Cape Verde, Congo DR and Mali no thanks to their lowly standing in the Fifa ranking for June 2016.

In all modesty, all four pots pose challenges - from the loaded Pot One, which has hard-hitting teams Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia, to Pot Three which parades three teams that have played in the World Cup - Cameroon, Morocco, Guinea, South Africa and Congo, while Pot Four has some massive underdogs in Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Gabon and Libya.

Below are the possible permutations for the Super Eagles ahead of Friday’s draw, as fans would pray to avoid the toughest teams where possible.

NIGERIA

(Pot One) Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia | (Pot Three) Cameroon, Morocco, Guinea, South Africa and Congo | (Pot Four) Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Gabon and Libya 

Nightmare Group: Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia
Dream Group: Senegal, South Africa, Uganda

SOUTH AFRICA

(Pot One) Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia | (Pot Two) Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo DR, Nigeria and Mali | (Pot Four) Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Gabon and Libya 

Nightmare Group: Algeria, Nigeria, Zambia
Dream Group: Senegal, Congo DR, Burkina Faso

ALGERIA

(Pot Two) Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo DR, Nigeria and Mali | (Pot Three) Cameroon, Morocco, Guinea, South Africa and Congo | (Pot Four) Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Gabon and Libya 

Nightmare Group: Egypt, Morocco, Gabon
Dream Group: Cape Verde, Congo, Libya

GHANA

(Pot Two) Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo DR, Nigeria and Mali| (Pot Three) Cameroon, Morocco, Guinea, South Africa and Congo | (Pot Four) Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Gabon and Libya 

Nightmare Group: Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia
Dream Group: Mali, South Africa, Burkina Faso

CAMEROON

(Pot One) Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia | (Pot Two) Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo DR, Nigeria and Mali | (Pot Four) Uganda, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Gabon and Libya 

Nightmare Group: Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Zambia
Dream Group: Tunisia, Congo DR, Libya