Current FIFA ranking: 24

Head-to-head: Egypt wins 9, Ghana wins 4, Draws 5

Egypt first met Ghana in the 1960 Italy Olympic qualifiers, which saw the Pharaohs win 2-1 before slumping to a 2-0 defeat to their rivals a month later, as the Arab nation eventually qualified for the Olympics.

Egypt's biggest win over Ghana came right in the next Olympic campaign in Tokyo, where they thrashed the West Africans 5-1 en route to securing the tournament's fourth place; the Pharaohs' biggest Olympic feat ever.

On the African front, both sides clashed three times in the Cup of Nations, drawing once as Egypt made up for a 1-0 group-stage defeat in 1992 to snatch the title in the 2010 finals, courtesy of Geddo's famous goal.

However, most of their meetings came in friendly games, with Egypt winning five and losing four out of a total of 13 non-competitive games.

Ghana - the second nation boasting maximum CAN trophies with four titles under their belt after seven-time champions Egypt - eye a third consecutive World Cup appearance, having first made it to the competition in 2006.

Players to watch

Asamoah Gyan

Skipper Gyan remains Ghana's main source of danger, thanks to his pace, physical presence and goalscoring prowess.