Algeria play Burkina Faso in FIFA World Cup play-off

Cairo, Sep 16 (IANS) Algeria will take on Burkina Faso for a ticket to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, as was decided by the Africa zone play-off draw held here Monday.

The ‘Greens’ will play away the first leg in Ouagadougou between Oct 11-15 before hosting the second leg at home in Blida Stadium between Dec 15-19, reports Xinhua.

“It’s a fair enough draw for Algeria as they get to face Burkina Faso. I think the Greens have to score goals away so as to play the second leg comfortably at home but beware falling in the trap of superficiality. I’d advise the players to respect their adversary and take the game seriously,” football expert Mustapha Beskri said.

Algeria occupied 28th spot in FIFA’s September rankings, putting them third in Africa after Ivory Coast and Ghana while Burkina Faso came 51st (eighth in Africa). Algeria played Burkina Faso in a friendly last June and won 2-0.

The draw saw Ghana challenging Egypt while Africa’s top-ranked team Ivory Coast get to battle Senegal. Tunisia will face Cameroon while Ethiopia take on Nigeria.