Youssou N'Dour helped conduct the draw in Frankfurt

At the draw for the 2006 finals conducted in Frankfurt on Friday, Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour put his nation atop group 1, with Zambia and Mali as the main challengers.

The other teams in the group are Togo, Liberia and Congo.

On their way to a World Cup qualifier in Senegal, an air force plane carrying the Zambian national squad plunged into the sea off the coast of Gabon shortly after taking off following a refuelling stop.

Those people died for the World Cup Kalusha Bwalya

Zambia's World Cup history will, therefore, be forever associated with the tragedy which claimed 30 lives - including 18 players and two coaches - on 28 April, 1993.

For Zambia's coach Kalusha Bwalya, the memory of those who died is still with him today.

"The World Cup qualifiers will always be something special for our country and for me," he told the Fifa worldcup.com website.

"Those people died for the World Cup and it's up to the players now to take the country further.

"It's not an easy task. There're other sides that will go into the qualifying rounds better prepared than us, but we'll try our best."

African champions Cameroon were drawn with Egypt and Ivory Coast in the toughest group.

The rivalry between Tunisia and Morocco, both seeking to host the 2010 World Cup finals, will highlight group 5.

Nigeria, in group 4, will have its toughest challenge from Algeria, with Zimbabwe no more than a potential banana skin.

South Africa heads group 2, which includes Congo, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

Only the winners of five groups make it to Germany 2006, setting the stage for many heated qualifying games.

The World Cup draw will also determine the qualifiers for the 2006 African Nations Cup finals in Egypt.

The draw:

Group 1: Senegal, Mali, Zambia, Togo, Liberia, Congo

Group 2: South Africa, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda, Cape Verde

Group 3: Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Libya, Sudan, Benin

Group 4: Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Rwanda