2023_U-23_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_qualification
2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Qualification procedures for the 2023 U-23 AFCON
This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 September 2022 – 28 March 2023 |
| Teams | 38 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 60 |
| Goals scored | 133 (2.22 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | (4 goals each) |
← 2019 2027 → | |
Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of 8 teams, including automatically qualified hosts Morocco, qualified to play in the group stages of this edition of the tournament, which also doubled as the first stage of the African qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in France.
Apart from Morocco, the remaining 53 CAF members were eligible to enter qualification and a total of 38 national teams entered its draw which was announced on 18 August 2022.[1] Eighteen best teams from the previous edition and its qualification procedures were given a bye to the second round.
| Main tournament edition hosts | Bye to second round (18 teams) |
First round entrants (20 teams) |
|---|---|---|
|
- Did not enter
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away, two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, away goals rule was applied and if still tied, penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to determine the winner.
All matches were played during the FIFA International Window and its schedules were as follows:[2]
| Round | Leg | Date |
|---|---|---|
| First round | First leg | 19–27 September 2022 |
| Second leg | ||
| Second round | First leg | 22–23 October 2022 |
| Second leg | 29–30 October 2022 | |
| Third round[3] | First leg | 22–28 March 2023 |
| Second leg |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea-Bissau  |
2–4 |  Niger |
0–0 | 2–4 |
Tanzania  |
3–3 (a) |  South Sudan |
0–0 | 3–3 |
Eswatini  |
3–2 |  Botswana |
2–0 | 1–2 |
Mauritania  |
1–2 |  Togo |
1–0 | 0–2 |
Ethiopia  |
0–1 |  DR Congo |
0–0 | 0–1 |
Mozambique  |
5–1 |  Mauritius |
3–0 | 2–1 |
Burkina Faso  |
2–2 (a) |  Gambia |
0–1 | 2–1 |
Libya  |
4–4 (a) |  Rwanda |
4–1 | 0–3 |
Madagascar  |
12–1 |  Seychelles |
5–0 | 7–1 |
Angola  |
8–1 |  Namibia |
2–1 | 6–0 |
| Niger | 4–2 | Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Camará  78', 88' |
Niger won 4–2 on aggregate.
Tanzania won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
| Botswana | 2–1 | Eswatini |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | N. Dlamini 75' |
Eswatini won 3–2 on aggregate.
Togo won 2–1 on aggregate.
DR Congo won 1–0 on aggregate, but later got disqualified and had its result forfeited for fielding ineligible players. Although Ethiopia advanced to the final round, they chose not to compete and thus Algeria advanced in their place.
Mozambique won 5–1 on aggregate.
Burkina Faso won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Rwanda won 4–4 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
| Madagascar | 5–0 | Seychelles |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Seychelles | 1–7 | Madagascar |
|---|---|---|
| Aboudou 4' |
Report |
|
Madagascar won 12–1 on aggregate.
Angola won 8–1 on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niger |
1–1 (a) |  Ivory Coast |
0–0 | 1–1 |
Sudan  |
3–3 (a) |  Benin |
2–0 | 1–3 |
| Tanzania |
1–3 |  Nigeria |
1–1 | 0–2 |
Guinea  |
w/o[upper-alpha 1] |  Uganda |
— | — |
| Eswatini |
0–1 |  Egypt |
0–0 | 0–1 |
Sierra Leone  |
1–2 |  Zambia |
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Togo |
2–2 (a) |  South Africa |
2–2 | 0–0 |
Congo  |
2–2 (a) |  Tunisia |
1–0 | 1–2 |
| DR Congo |
w/o[upper-alpha 2][upper-alpha 3] |  Algeria |
— | — |
| Mozambique |
1–4 |  Ghana |
1–2 | 0–2 |
| Burkina Faso |
0–0 (3–5 p) |  Senegal |
0–0 | 0–0 |
| Rwanda |
1–2 |  Mali |
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Madagascar |
0–5 |  Gabon |
0–1 | 0–4 |
| Angola |
2–3 |  Cameroon |
2–3 | 0–0 |
Notes:
Niger won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Sudan won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.
Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.
Zambia won 2–1 on aggregate.
South Africa on 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Conogo won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.
Ghana won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Senegal | 0–0 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
|
5–3 |
|
Senegal won 5–3 on penalties and advanced to the final round.
Mali won 2–1 on aggregate.
Gabon won 5–0 on aggregate.
Cameroon won 3–2 on aggregate.
Winners qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niger |
2–1 | Sudan |
0–0 | 2–1 |
| Nigeria |
0–2 | Guinea |
0–0 | 0–2 |
| Egypt |
2–0 | Zambia |
2–0 | 0–0 |
| South Africa |
1–1 (a) | Congo |
1–1 | 0–0 |
| Algeria |
1–2 | Ghana |
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Senegal |
3–4 | Mali |
3–1 | 0–3 |
| Gabon |
1–1 (7–6 p) | Cameroon |
1–0 | 0–1 |
Niger won 2–1 on aggregate.
Guinea won 2–0 on aggregate.
Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.
Congo won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate.
Mali won 4–3 on aggregate.
Gabon won 7–6 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on aggregate.
The following eight teams qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.[15]
| Team | Qualified on | Previous U-23 Africa Cup of Nations appearances1 |
|---|---|---|
 Morocco (hosts) | 7 July 2022 | 1 (2011) |
| Egypt | 26 March 2023 | 3 (2011, 2015, 2019) |
| Congo | 27 March 2023 | 0 (debut) |
| Gabon | 28 March 2023 | 1 (2011) |
| Ghana | 28 March 2023 | 1 (2019) |
| Guinea | 28 March 2023 | 0 (debut) |
| Mali | 28 March 2023 | 2 (2015, 2019) |
| Niger | 28 March 2023 | 0 (debut) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
There were 133 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.22 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
Chemseddine Bekkouche
Daniel Afriyie
El Hadari Raheriniaina
2 goals
- Mohamed Islam Belkhir
Bito- Capita
- Zini
Ivan Ndjantou
Gloire Bassinga
Jonathan Ikangalombo
Emmanuel Ovono- Abdul Fatawu Issahaku
Mamadi Camará
Nour al-Din Al-Qulaib
Zidane Sidat
Salam Boulhassane
Success Makanjuola
Clément Niyigena
Ally Msengi
Kevin Laba
1 goal
- Benarfa
- Benvindo Afonso
- Picas
- Melono Dala
Boladji Abdou- Gaël Dassi
- Soumaïla Hounkpè
Tawana Mbakile- Tefo Molefe
Kouamé Botué- Cyrille Dao
- Etienne Eto'o
- Djawal Kaiba
- Love Bissila
- John Bakata
- Akram Bongonga
- Gloire Mujaya
- Patient Mwamba
Ibrahim Adel- Abdelrahman Atef
- Osama Faisal
Bongiswa Dlamini- Neliswa Dlamini
- Sambulo Simelane
- Ben Kabinambele
- Hants Mbenga
- Jeremie Moussango
- Yohann Nkoghe
Mamadou Bâ- Momodou Bojang
- Sylvester Simba
Algassime Bah- Alseny Soumah
Seydou Traoré- Fadel Salama
- Ali Yousef
- Joël Jinidy
- Kalvin Paul
- Lalane Randrianandrasana
- Claude Ratsimbazafy
Hamidou Diallo- Thiemoko Diarra
- Ahmed Diomandé
- Kamory Doumbia
- Mamadou Sangare
- Kalifa Traoré
Sidi Ahmed Mohamed El Abd
David Aristide- Gaby
- Ivan
- Gianluca Lorenzoni
- Horácio Vilanculos
Gonzales Tsuseb- Abdoul Rachid Amoumane
- Abiodun Ogunniyi
- Ashraf Kamanzi
- Prince Rudasingwa
Mamadou Lamine Camara- Ibrahima Dramé
- Abdallah Sima
Affandi Aboudou
Alie Conteh
Ashley Cupido- Thapelo Maseko
- Antonio van Wyk
Rahan Angier- Dani Lual
- Joseph Malish
Ali Abdalah- John Manu
- Al-Jezoli Nouh
- Kelvin John
- Abdul Sopu
- Bruno Avotor
- Aboudou Wetchire
Adem Garreb- Hamdi Labidi
Joshua Mutale- Andrew Phiri
1 own goal
- Pamphile Winsavi (against Sudan)
- Yoro Mamadou Diaby (against Rwanda)
- Graham Fauré (against Madagascar)
- Sierra Leone played their home matches in Liberia, since their only stadium which satisfies the criteria of hosting international matches – the Siaka Steven Stadium in Freetown – is undergoing long term renovations.[13][14]
- "TotalEnergies U23 AFCON Qualifiers Draw on Thursday". CAFOnline.com. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- "The road to the TotalEnergies U23 AFCON, Morocco 2023 now mapped out". CAFOnline.com. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- "The race towards TotalEnergies U23 AFCON and 2024 Olympics peaks as African teams prepare for Third Round of Qualifiers". CAFOnline.com. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- "Impressive CAF Champions League victories for Tanzanian clubs". News 9 Live. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
Young Africans trounced South Sudanese side Zalan Rumbek 4-0 in a match switched to Tanzania because their rivals do not have an international-standard stadium.
- Chol, ElSheikh (29 August 2022). "AL Hilal, Zalan FC risk missing CAF as Tanzania demands $17,000 for stadium rent". Eye Radio. Juba, South Sudan. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- "RC Kadiogo vs Asante Kotoko moved to Benin". Modern Ghana. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
Currently, Burkinabé teams are unable to host continental matches on home soil as national facilities are being renovated to meet the required standards set by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
- Camara, Arfang (26 September 2022). "Gambia To Play Burkina Faso In Afcon U-23 Return Leg Fixture Tomorrow". Voice Gambia. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- "Sundowns to host both legs of Champions League tie". SuperSport. 4 October 2022.
There is no suitable stadium on the Indian Ocean island...
- "La Guinée qualifiée au troisième tour après le retrait de l'Ouganda" [CAN U23: Guinea qualified in the third round after the withdrawal of Uganda]. LeKaloum Guinea News (in French). 18 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- "Menace de disqualification sur la RDC, l'Algérie vraiment repêchée ?" [CAN U23: threat of disqualification on the DRC, Algeria really fished out?]. Afrik Foot (in French). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- "Black Meteors to face Algeria in final round". Ghana SoccerNet. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- "L'ALGÉRIE QUALIFIÉE ET AFFRONTERA LE GHANA AU DERNIER TOUR" [CAN U23 TOTALENERGIES, MOROCCO 2023 PRELIMINARIES: ALGERIA QUALIFIED AND WILL FACE GHANA IN THE LAST ROUND]. Algerian Football Federation (in French). 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- "Sierra Leone close stadium for $40m rehabilitation". Football Sierra Leone. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- Sang, Kiplagat (26 August 2022). "Liberia President Weah lauded for allowing Sierra Leone free stadium use". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- "Mali, Guinea through as TotalEnergies U23 AFCON qualifiers climax in style". CAFOnline.com. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.