2015 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

Last updated
2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations
2015 Coupe d'Afrique des nations U-23
2015 Afcon U-23 (logo).png
Tournament details
Host countryFlag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Dates28 November – 12 December
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria (1st title)
Runners-upFlag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Third placeFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Fourth placeFlag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored36 (2.25 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Nigeria.svg Etebo Oghenekaro (5 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Nigeria.svg Azubuike Okechukwu
Best goalkeeper Flag of Algeria.svg Abdelkader Salhi
Fair play awardFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
← 2011
2019 →

The 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations was the 2nd edition of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, the quadrennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the men's under-23 national teams of Africa. The tournament started on 28 November and finished on 12 December 2015. [1] A total of eight teams are playing in the tournament.

Contents

The tournament was initially scheduled to take place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 5–19 December 2015. [2] [3] However, CAF changed the hosts and requested Senegal to host the tournament instead, [4] and the tournament dates were also changed.

On 6 August 2015, the CAF Executive Committee decided to change the name of the tournament from the CAF U-23 Championship to the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, similar to the senior's version, Africa Cup of Nations. [5]

Same as the previous edition, the tournament acted as the CAF qualifiers for the Olympic football tournament. The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil as the CAF representatives. [6]

Nigeria won the tournament with a 1–0 final win over Algeria. Both finalists and third-placed South Africa qualified for the Olympics. [7]

Qualification

Senegal qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining seven spots were determined by the qualifying rounds, which took place from April to August 2015. [3]

Qualified teams

The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament. Defending champions Gabon failed to qualify after they lost to Mali.

TeamAppearancePrevious best performance
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 2ndGroup stage (2011)
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 2ndThird place (2011)
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 1stDebut
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 2ndGroup stage (2011)
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal (hosts)2ndFourth place (2011)
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 2ndGroup stage (2011)
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 1stDebut
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 1stDebut

Venues

The tournament was held in two venues. [1]

Dakar
class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2015 U-23 Afcon venues
 M'Bour
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor Stade Caroline Faye
Capacity: 60,000Capacity: 5,000
Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor.jpg

Squads

Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each squad could contain a maximum of 21 players. [8]

Match officials

A total of 10 referees and 13 assistant referees were selected. [9]

Group stage

The draw for the final tournament of the competition took place on 14 September 2015, 11:00 UTC+2, at the CAF headquarters in Cairo. [5] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four. [10] For the draw, the hosts Senegal were seeded in position A1 and the previous tournament's best-placed qualified team Egypt were seeded in position B1. The remaining six teams were drawn from one pot to fill the other positions in the two groups. [11]

The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order: [8]

  1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
  3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  4. If, after applying criteria 1 to 3 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 7 apply;
  5. Goal difference in all games;
  6. Goals scored in all games;
  7. Drawing of lots.

All times were local, GMT (UTC±0). [12]

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal (H)330061+59 Knockout stage
2Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 32015506
3Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 310224−23
4Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 300336−30
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Senegal  Flag of Senegal.svg3–1Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Keita Soccerball shade.svg15' (pen.), 20'
S. Sarr Soccerball shade.svg87'		 Report Ntshangase Soccerball shade.svg27' (pen.)
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco)
Zambia  Flag of Zambia.svg1–2Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Kampamba Soccerball shade.svg15' Report Jouini Soccerball shade.svg3', 83'
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Juste Ephrem Zio (Burkina Faso)
South Africa  Flag of South Africa.svg3–2Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia
Masuku Soccerball shade.svg46'
Motupa Soccerball shade.svg51', 58'		 Report Luchanga Soccerball shade.svg34'
Katema Soccerball shade.svg72'
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria)
Tunisia  Flag of Tunisia.svg0–2Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Report Diédhiou Soccerball shade.svg8'
Diallo Soccerball shade.svg84'
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Bienvenu Sinko (Ivory Coast)
Senegal  Flag of Senegal.svg1–0Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia
Diallo Soccerball shade.svg3' Report
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)
South Africa  Flag of South Africa.svg1–0Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Masuku Soccerball shade.svg85' Report
Stade Caroline Faye, M'Bour
Referee: Hamada Nampiandraza (Madagascar)

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 312031+25 Knockout stage
2Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 312054+15
3Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 310235−23
4Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 302134−12
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Egypt  Flag of Egypt.svg1–1Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Kahraba Soccerball shade.svg54' Report Chita Soccerball shade.svg68'
Stade Caroline Faye, M'Bour
Referee: Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)
Mali  Flag of Mali.svg2–3Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Niane Soccerball shade.svg55' (pen.)
A. Diarra Soccerball shade.svg64'		 Report Ajayi Soccerball shade.svg15', 45'
Usman Soccerball shade.svg33'
Stade Caroline Faye, M'Bour
Referee: Hamada Nampiandra (Madagascar)
Algeria  Flag of Algeria.svg2–0Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
Ferhat Soccerball shade.svg72'
Y. Traoré Soccerball shade.svg83' (o.g.)		 Report
Stade Caroline Faye, M'Bour
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg2–2Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
Oghenekaro Soccerball shade.svg20' (pen.), 30' (pen.) Report Sobhi Soccerball shade.svg47'
Elsayed Soccerball shade.svg51'
Stade Caroline Faye, M'Bour
Referee: Antoine Effa (Cameroon)
Egypt  Flag of Egypt.svg0–1Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
Report Coulibaly Soccerball shade.svg18'
Stade Caroline Faye, M'Bour
Referee: Hudu Munyemana (Rwanda)
Algeria  Flag of Algeria.svg0–0Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Report
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner, except for the third place match where no extra time would be played. [8]

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
9 December – Dakar
 
 
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 0
 
12 December – Dakar
 
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 1
 
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 2
 
9 December – Dakar
 
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 1
 
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 2
 
 
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 0
 
Third place
 
 
12 December – Dakar
 
 
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 0 (1)
 
 
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa (p)0 (3)

Semi-finals

Winners qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.

Senegal  Flag of Senegal.svg0–1Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Report Oghenekaro Soccerball shade.svg76' (pen.)
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Redouane Jiyed (Morocco)
Algeria  Flag of Algeria.svg2–0Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Darfalou Soccerball shade.svg8'
Benkhemassa Soccerball shade.svg49'		 Report
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Juste Ephrem Zio (Burkina Faso)

Third place play-off

Winner qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.

Senegal  Flag of Senegal.svg0–0Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Report
Penalties
Badji Soccerball shade cross.svg
Diaw Soccerball shade cross.svg
I. Sarr Soccerball shad check.svg
S. Sarr Soccerball shade cross.svg		1–3Soccerball shad check.svg Motupa
Soccerball shade cross.svg Mngonyama
Soccerball shad check.svg Masuku
Soccerball shade cross.svg Dolly
Soccerball shad check.svg Mahlambi
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Hudu Munyemana (Rwanda)

Final

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg2–1Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Oghenekaro Soccerball shade.svg14' (pen.), 40' Report Tope Soccerball shade.svg30' (o.g.)
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Hamada Nampiandra (Madagascar)

Winners

 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations champions 
Flag of Nigeria.svg
Nigeria
First title

Final ranking

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsFinal result
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 532085+311Champions
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 522163+38Runners-up
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 521257−27Third place
4Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal (H)531162+410Fourth place
5Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 310235−23Eliminated in
Group stage
6Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 310224−23
7Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 302134−12
8Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 300336−30
Source: CAF
(H) Hosts

Qualified teams for Olympics

The following three teams from CAF qualified for the Olympic football tournament.

TeamQualified onPrevious appearances in tournament 1
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 9 December 20156 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996 , 2000, 2008)
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 9 December 20151 (1980)
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 12 December 20151 (2000)
1Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year. Statistics include all Olympic format (current Olympic under-23 format started in 1992).

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: [13]

Goalscorers

5 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

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References

  1. 1 2 "CAF Executive Committee decisions of 26 May 2015". CAF. 27 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "CAF Media Tweet". CAF. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "CAF Full Calendar". CAFonline.com. 28 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Macky Sall accepts to host U-23 Championship in December". CAF. 14 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee on 6 August 2015". CAF. 9 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016 – Football" (PDF). Rio 2016 Official Website. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "South Africa grab Africa's final Rio ticket". FIFA.com. 12 December 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Regulations U23 AFCON English" (PDF). CAF.
  9. ↑ "Referees for U-23 AFCON Senegal 2015 announced". CAF. 16 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Results of draw for Final Tournament". CAF. 14 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Procedure for AFCON U-23 Senegal 2015 Final Tournament Draw". CAF. 13 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Fixtures of the Final Tournament of the 2nd U23 Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal 2015" (PDF). CAF.
  13. ↑ "Azubuike named Most Valuable Player". CAF. 14 December 2015.
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