The worst-case scenario for Egypt might be having to face Algeria again in their final World Cup qualifying playoff, which would bring to mind the bitter memories of an infamous 2009 decider that led to dire, beyond football consequences.

Second-seed Egypt may prefer to meet powerhouses Ghana or Ivory Coast or African Cup of Nations holders Nigeria than bracing for an unwelcome off-field distraction if they are paired with North African rivals Algeria in Monday’s draw in Cairo.

There is no love lost between the bitter foes.

Algeria pipped Egypt to a place at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, the first to be staged in Africa, following two ill-tempered matches that strained diplomatic ties between both countries and sparked stunning football-related protests in Egypt.

The Algerian team bus was stoned in Cairo ahead of the first game, an incident which led to the injury of some players, and matters went from bad to worse for the Desert Foxes when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to avoid getting a direct World Cup ticket as both sides resorted to a decider that took place in a neutral venue.

Algeria avenged the defeat by claiming a narrow 1-0 victory in Sudan but fan riots ensued in Omdurman following the final whistle, with Egypt’s contingent accusing their Algerian counterparts of intimidating them.

It was Algeria who eventually made it through to the World Cup, leaving Egypt to once again lick their wounds as they contemplated another year of watching the football’s most prestigious event on television, having made their last appearance in 1990 in Italy.

“Algeria is not suitable for us because of all the tension and outside drama between the two north African teams in football,” former Egypt striker Mido told Supersport.com.

Talismanic playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika echoed Mido’s sentiment, saying he preferred to avoid both Algeria and Tunisia.

Off-field tensions with Tunisia, who rode their luck to advance to the decisive phase after Cape Verde were punished for fielding an ineligible player, are not uncommon but they might still be an easier test for Egypt than Algeria, whose youthful side are enjoying a fine run under Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

West Africa

If past experiences are anything to go by, Egypt would have no problems meeting their top-seeded West African competitors, some of whom were outplayed by the Pharaohs in recent years despite being odds-on favourites to emerge winners.

A formidable Ivory Coast side boasting the likes of Didier Drogba and Kolo Toure lost to Egypt in the 2006 Nations Cup final before suffering an embarrassing 4-1 semi-final defeat by the same opponent two years later.

Ghana were also deprived of their first Nations Cup title since 1982 when they lost 1-0 to Egypt in the 2010 final.

However, Mido still believes Nigeria, whose most recent friendly game with Egypt saw them lose 3-2 last year, will be a better option for the seven-time African champions.

“I hope the draw gives us Nigeria. This will be very good for our National team because Nigeria has a good team and their players are very skilled. They keep improving since they won the last AFCON and it's better for us to play against them and get tested,” he said.

“They play real fast flowing football and that in the long run will only make Egypt better and will make our mission at the end easier. I don’t want Ghana or Ivory Coast.”

Egypt are the only team to have collected maximum points in the group stage, having claimed six wins to brush aside Guinea, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

However, such an impressive run will count for nothing if they fail to realize a long-held dream of playing at the World Cup.

“When I got there [in Egypt], all that anyone talked about was the World Cup because they had failed to qualify for so long ... I don't know much Arabic, but I learned early that Kas el a'alam means World Cup,” Egypt’s American coach Bob Bradley said in an interview with ESPN.

There are still doubts over whether Egypt can stage their home playoff game in the country, given lingering security concerns due to the turmoil that followed the army’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.

Bradley said he hoped the match would be played at Cairo Stadium “before 80,000 fans”, having played most of the World Cup qualifiers behind closed doors.

Such support will be badly needed as Egypt take another shot at the elusive tournament.