The Pharaohs, who last played in the finals 18 years ago, will avoid other top teams in the region including Africa's number one side Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, all of whom will be in pot one for the October 22 draw in Zurich.

FIFA established the seedings according to the current world rankings after the final round of qualifiers were completed at the weekend.

Pot two is made up of north African trio Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, alongside Mali and Guinea, while pot three includes Burkina Faso, Gabon, Zambia, Kenya and Benin.

Togo are in the final pot with Rwanda, Mozambique, Sudan and Malawi.

The final round will be made up of 20 teams - the 12 group winners from the previous round and the eight-best runners-up.

They will be drawn into five groups of four with each winner taking its place at the 2010 finals in South Africa and the top three qualifying for the African Nations Cup in Angola.

Pot 1

Cameroon

Egypt

Ghana

Nigeria

Ivory Coast

Pot 2

Guinea

Morocco

Tunisia

Mali

Algeria

Pot 3

Burkina Faso

Gabon

Zambia

Kenya

Benin

Pot 4

Rwanda

Togo

Mozambique

Sudan

Malawi