The South Sudan team has been pitted against Algeria in the preliminary round of the FIFA U-20 Women World Cup qualifiers.

In the draws made last week for the African zone South Sudan will host the Algerian team on January 17 and the return leg is slated for February 2, 2020.

It will be the first time that the South Sudan women’s team features in a FIFA World Cup qualifier at any level.

Women’s football in South Sudan only started this year with the South Sudan Women’s Cup. South Sudan also entered a team in the CECAFA Senior Women’s Challenge Cup that ended in Dr es salaam, Tanzania last month.

A record 29 countries have entered the qualifiers. Highly ranked teams like Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria all got byes for the first round. The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be staged in July 2020.

Preliminary round fixture

South Sudan v Algeria

Tanzania vs Uganda

Egypt vs Morocco

Congo vs Angola

Liberia vs Guinea

DR Congo vs Gabon

Burkina Faso vs the Gambia

Mauritania vs Guinea-Bissau

Senegal vs Sierra Leone

Burundi vs Ethiopia

Malawi vs Zimbabwe

Namibia vs Botswana

Zambia vs South Africa