FIFA to draw African World Cup qualifying groups in June

ZURICH (AP) The final round of African qualifying groups for the 2018 World Cup will be drawn in June.

FIFA says it agreed with the Confederation of African Football to make the 20-nation draw in Cairo on June 24.

Five groups will all have four teams, each playing opponents home and away from October 2016 through November 2017.

The five group winners will advance to the World Cup in Russia.

FIFA says seedings for the draw have not been decided.

According to the current FIFA rankings, the five top-seeded teams would be: Ivory Coast, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde Islands, and Senegal.

The five African qualifiers at the 2014 World Cup were: Ivory Coast, Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.