Egypt captain Mohamed Salah has pledged to avenge his team's loss to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final last month when the two teams meet again on Friday in a 2022 World Cup play-off.
Salah's disappointment in the continental final was compounded by the fact that he was also a member of the Egyptian side who lost the 2017 Cup of Nations final against Cameroon.
Mane, a Liverpool teammate, was instrumental in Senegal's first Cup of Nations victory, avenging a penalty miss in regular time by converting the winning penalty kick in the shootout.
The first game will be held in Egypt on Friday, while the second leg will be held in Senegal on Tuesday, with the aggregate winners earning one of five places earmarked for Africa at the 32-nation championships in Qatar.
AFP Sport previews the five first legs, with Cameroon aiming for a record-extending seventh appearance in the World Cup and Mali wanting to make history by reaching the finals for the first time.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse believes the Cup of Nations victory is in the past and that the only thing that matters now is qualifying for the World Cup for the second time.
Nigeria is the favorite, but the matchup has a history of being close, with each nation winning twice in previous World Cup qualifiers and four other matches ending in a draw.
Both teams struggled at the African Cup of Nations, with Ghana exiting in the first round after losing to Comoros and Nigeria exiting in the last 16 after losing to Tunisia.
With attackers Emmanuel Dennis, Odion Ighalo, and Victor Osimhen now available, Nigeria has a stronger roster than in Cameroon, although injured midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will miss out.
After the Cup of Nations catastrophe, Ghana fired Serb coach Milovan Rajevac and hired Otto Addo, with former Newcastle and Brighton manager Chris Hughton providing a hand.
