Retired French footballer, Marcel Desailly has named ‘The Pharaohs’ of Egypt as well as the ‘Atlas Lions’ of Morocco as the only two African teams likely to qualify out of the group stages at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The North African countries, according to Marcel Desailly, have better prospects of making Africa proud in the World Cup this time.

“Egypt is a very good side and luckily they combine collective capacity with an individual player that can also make the difference for their teams,” he said.

“We are still in our 84-year that none of the African countries has reached the semi-final but it’s a real challenge. I really count on Egypt to raise and bring Africa high,” he added.

The two-time UEFA Champions League winner and FIFA World Cup winner further stated that Morocco is an equally good team which can also do something remarkable at the World Cup.

“Nigeria, they are on and off. They have a huge potential, the group is not easy so let’s see they can build up that confidence towards the first game. Once you play your first match you know the collective dynamic of your team” Marcel Desailly told GhanaWeb's Sport Check host Daniel Oduro.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Russia on 14 June and run for just over a month, with the final taking place in Moscow on Sunday 15 July.

With 32 teams competing, that means there will be 64 live matches shown on TV in that period.

Nigeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Morocco and Egypt are the continent’s representatives in Russia, and they would be hoping to challenge for the coveted trophy.

Since Africa’s first participation in the quadrennial football showpiece in 1934, only Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002), and Ghana (2010) have reached the competition’s last eight.