2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates21 September 2022 – 28 March 2023
Teams38 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played60
Goals scored133 (2.22 per match)
Top scorer(s)
(4 goals each)

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.

Teams

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)
  •  Angola
  •  Botswana
  •  Burkina Faso
  •  DR Congo
  •  Eswatini
  •  Ethiopia
  •  Gambia
  •  Guinea-Bissau
  •  Libya
  •  Madagascar
  •  Mauritania
  •  Mauritius
  •  Mozambique
  •  Namibia
  •  Niger
  •  Rwanda
  •  Seychelles
  •  South Sudan
  •  Tanzania
  •  Togo
Did not enter
  •  Burundi
  •  Cape Verde
  •  Central African Republic
  •  Chad
  •  Comoros
  •  Djibouti
  •  Equatorial Guinea
  •  Eritrea
  •  Kenya
  •  Lesotho
  •  Liberia
  •  Malawi
  •  São Tomé and Príncipe
  •  Somalia
  •  Zimbabwe

Format

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.

Schedule

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

First round

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

Guinea-Bissau 0–0 Niger
Report
Niger 4–2 Guinea-Bissau
  • Boulhassane 36'
  • Amoustapha 47', 67'
  • Amoumane 50'
 Report Camará 78', 88'
Referee: Adaari Abdul-Latif (Ghana)

Niger won 4–2 on aggregate.

Tanzania 0–0 South Sudan
Report
South Sudan 3–3 Tanzania
 Report
Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)

Tanzania won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Eswatini 2–0 Botswana
  • B. Dlamini 45'
  • Simelane 48'
 Report
Referee: Mathews Hamalila (Zambia)
Botswana 2–1 Eswatini
  • Molefe 30'
  • Mbakile 45'
 Report N. Dlamini 75'

Eswatini won 3–2 on aggregate.

Mauritania 1–0 Togo
El Abd 90+4' Report
Referee: Alhasan Bass (Gambia)
Togo 2–0 Mauritania
  • Avotor 47'
  • Laba 68'
 Report
Referee: Tanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)

Togo won 2–1 on aggregate.

Ethiopia Voided
(0–0)		 DR Congo
Report
DR Congo Voided
(1–0)		 Ethiopia
Bongonga 74' Report

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 3–0 Mauritius
 Report
Mauritius 1–2 Mozambique
Aristide 90+1' (pen.) Report
  • Sidat 14'
  • Ivan 82'
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre

Mozambique won 5–1 on aggregate.

Burkina Faso 0–1 Gambia
Report Bojang 78' (pen.)
Referee: Abubakar Abdullahi (Nigeria)
Gambia 1–2 Burkina Faso
Bâ 82' Report

Burkina Faso won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Libya 4–1 Rwanda
  • Al-Qulaib 20' (pen.), 48'
  • Yousef 52'
  • Salama 88'
 Report Kamanzi 76'
Rwanda 3–0 Libya
  • Niyigena 38', 53'
  • Rudasingwa 72' (pen.)
 Report
Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)

Rwanda won 4–4 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Madagascar 5–0 Seychelles
 Report
Referee: Dharamveer Hurbungs (Mauritius)
Seychelles 1–7 Madagascar
Aboudou 4' Report

Madagascar won 12–1 on aggregate.

Angola 2–1 Namibia
  • Bito 63'
  • Picas 70'
 Report Tsuseb 58'
Namibia 0–6 Angola
Report
  • Benvindo 5'
  • Benarfa 23'
  • Capita 29', 76'
  • Bito 46'
  • Melono 84'

Angola won 8–1 on aggregate.

Second round

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:

  1. Guinea won on a walkover after Uganda withdrew from the competition.[9]
  2. DR Congo originally won the tie, but were later disqualified after competing in the second round for fielding ineligible players. Algeria advanced to the final round.[10]
  3. Algeria won on a walkover after Ethiopia withdrew from the competition.[11][12]

Niger 0–0 Ivory Coast
Report
Referee: Hamidou Diero (Burkina Faso)
Ivory Coast 1–1 Niger
Traoré 59' Report Amoustapha 46'

Niger won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Sudan 2–0 Benin
 Report
Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)
Benin 3–1 Sudan
  • Abdou 38'
  • Dassi 42'
  • Hounkpè 72'
 Report Winsavi 82' (o.g.)
Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)

Sudan won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Tanzania 1–1 Nigeria
Msengi 76' (pen.) Report Makanjuola 29' (pen.)
Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)
Nigeria 2–0 Tanzania
  • Ogunniyi 59'
  • Makanjuola 67' (pen.)
 Report
Referee: Gnama Aklesso (Togo)

Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.

Eswatini 0–0 Egypt
Report
Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)
Egypt 1–0 Eswatini
Faisal 70' Report

Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.

Sierra Leone 1–1 Zambia
A. Conteh 58' (pen.) Report Mutale 90' (pen.)
Zambia 1–0 Sierra Leone
Phiri 65' Report

Zambia won 2–1 on aggregate.

Togo 2–2 South Africa
  • Laba 21'
  • Wetchire 80' (pen.)
 Report
Referee: Moussa Ahmadou Alou (Niger)
South Africa 0–0 Togo
Report
Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda)

South Africa on 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Congo 1–0 Tunisia
Bassinga 1' Report
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)
Tunisia 2–1 Congo
 Report Bassinga 85'
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)

Conogo won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

DR Congo Voided
(4–1)		 Algeria
  • Mujaya 3'
  • Ikangalombo 20', 23'
  • Bakata 56'
 Report Bekkouche 85'
Referee: Santillan da Costa (São Tomé and Príncipe)
Algeria Voided
(3–1)		 DR Congo
 Report Mwamba 58'
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)

DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.

Mozambique 1–2 Ghana
Vilanculos 88' Report Afriyie 65' (pen.), 76' (pen.)
Referee: Ibrahim Tsimanohitsy (Madagascar)
Ghana 2–0 Mozambique
 Report

Ghana won 4–1 on aggregate.

Burkina Faso 0–0 Senegal
Report
Senegal 0–0 Burkina Faso
Report
Penalties
 5–3
  • B. Dao soccer ball with red X
  • Tinta soccer ball with check mark
  • Botué soccer ball with check mark
  • H. Ouédraogo soccer ball with check mark
Referee: Younoussa Camara (Guinea)

Senegal won 5–3 on penalties and advanced to the final round.

Rwanda 1–1 Mali
Diaby 44' (o.g.) Report Diomandé 43'
Referee: Hassan Hagi (Somalia)
Mali 1–0 Rwanda
Traoré 35' Report
Referee: Stanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)

Mali won 2–1 on aggregate.

Madagascar 0–1 Gabon
Report Ovono 65'
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
Gabon 4–0 Madagascar
  • Mbenga 4'
  • Ovono 21'
  • Kabinambele 56'
  • Nkoghe 80'
 Report

Gabon won 5–0 on aggregate.

Angola 2–3 Cameroon
Zini 14', 88' Report
  • Kaiba 7'
  • Ndjantou 65', 73'
Cameroon 0–0 Angola
Report
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

Cameroon won 3–2 on aggregate.

Third round

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 0–0 Sudan
Report
Sudan 1–2 Niger
Manu 88' Report
Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi)

Niger won 2–1 on aggregate.

Nigeria 0–0 Guinea
Report
Referee: Sabri Mohamed Fadul (Sudan)
Guinea 2–0 Nigeria
  • Bah 61'
  • Soumah 76'
 Report
Referee: Yannick Kabanga Malala (DR Congo)

Guinea won 2–0 on aggregate.

Egypt 2–0 Zambia
 Report
Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)
Zambia 0–0 Egypt
Report
Referee: Jeannot Franck Bito (Cameroon)

Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.

South Africa 1–1 Congo
Maseko 67' Report Bissila 44'
Congo 0–0 South Africa
Report

Congo won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Algeria 1–1 Ghana
Bekkouche 90+2' Report Issahaku 86'
Referee: Hassen Corneh (Liberia)
Ghana 1–0 Algeria
Issahaku 12' Report
Referee: Younoussa Tawel Camara (Guinea)

Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate.

Senegal 3–1 Mali
 Report Diarra 60'
Referee: Abdulsalam Kassim (Nigeria)
Mali 3–0 Senegal
 Report

Mali won 4–3 on aggregate.

Gabon 1–0 Cameroon
Moussango 13' Report
Cameroon 1–0 Gabon
Eto'o 25' Report
Penalties
6–7

Gabon won 7–6 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on aggregate.

Qualified teams

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 20221 (2011)
 Egypt26 March 20233 (2011, 2015, 2019)
 Congo27 March 20230 (debut)
 Gabon28 March 20231 (2011)
 Ghana28 March 20231 (2019)
 Guinea28 March 20230 (debut)
 Mali28 March 20232 (2015, 2019)
 Niger28 March 20230 (debut)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 133 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.22 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

  • Benin Pamphile Winsavi (against Sudan)
  • Mali Yoro Mamadou Diaby (against Rwanda)
  • Seychelles Graham Fauré (against Madagascar)

Notes
  1. South Sudan played their home matches overseas, since none of their stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.[4][5]
  2. Burkina Faso played their home matches outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.[6]
  3. Gambia played their home matches in Morocco, since none of their home stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.[7]
  4. Seychelles played their home matches overseas, since none of their stadiums met the quality standards set in CAF's regulations.[8]
  5. 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]

References
  1. "TotalEnergies U23 AFCON Qualifiers Draw on Thursday". CAFOnline.com. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  2. "The road to the TotalEnergies U23 AFCON, Morocco 2023 now mapped out". CAFOnline.com. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. "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.
  4. "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.
  5. 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.
  6. "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).
  7. Camara, Arfang (26 September 2022). "Gambia To Play Burkina Faso In Afcon U-23 Return Leg Fixture Tomorrow". Voice Gambia. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  8. "Sundowns to host both legs of Champions League tie". SuperSport. 4 October 2022. There is no suitable stadium on the Indian Ocean island...
  9. "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.
  10. "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.
  11. "Black Meteors to face Algeria in final round". Ghana SoccerNet. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  12. "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.
  13. "Sierra Leone close stadium for $40m rehabilitation". Football Sierra Leone. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  14. Sang, Kiplagat (26 August 2022). "Liberia President Weah lauded for allowing Sierra Leone free stadium use". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. "Mali, Guinea through as TotalEnergies U23 AFCON qualifiers climax in style". CAFOnline.com. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
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