2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations

Last updated
2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 20 سنة 2021
Coupe d'Afrique des Nations des U-20 2021
2021 Afcon U20 - logo.png
Tournament details
Host countryMauritania
Dates14 February – 6 March [1]
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)3 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Ghana.svg  Ghana (4th title)
Runners-upFlag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Third placeFlag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Fourth placeFlag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored52 (2 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Uganda.svg Derrick Kakooza
(5 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Ghana.svg Abdul Fatawu
Fair play awardFlag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
2019
2023

The 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations (23rd edition if tournaments without hosts are included), the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 20 and below. In September 2018, it was decided that the tournament would be hosted by Mauritania. [2] [3] [4] [5] This will be the first edition in Africa U-20 Cup of Nations to have expanded to 12 teams instead of eight. [6] The top four teams of the tournament would have normally qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia as the CAF representatives. However, FIFA decided to cancel the tournament on 24 December 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. [7]

Contents

The defending champions Mali failed to qualify. Ghana won their 4th title by defeating debutant Uganda in the Final.

Qualification

At the end of the qualification phase, eleven teams will join the hosts Mauritania.

Player eligibility

Players born 1 January 2001 or later are eligible to participate in the competition.

Qualified teams

The following twelve teams qualified for the final tournament.

Note: All appearance statistics count only those since the introduction of final tournament in 1991.

TeamZoneAppearancePrevious best performance
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania (hosts)West A Zone1stDebut
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco North Zone5thChampions (1997)
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia North Zone1stDebut
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia West A Zone3rdThird place (2007)
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana West B Zone12thChampions (1993, 1999, 2009)
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso West B Zone4thFourth place (2003)
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda Central-East Zone1stDebut
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania Central-East Zone1stDebut
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic Central Zone1stDebut
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon Central Zone10thChampions (1995)
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia South Zone1stDebut
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique South Zone1stDebut

Venues

Nouakchott
Stade Olympique Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya
Capacity: 20,000Capacity: 8,200
Nouakchott stadium.jpg ml`b shykh bydy 3.jpg
Nouadhibou
Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou
Capacity: 10,300

Squads

Draw

The draw of the final tournament was held on 25 January 2021, 11:00 WAT (UTC+1), at the Hilton Hotel in Cameroon. [8] The twelve teams were drawn into three groups of four teams. The hosts Mauritania were seeded in Group A and allocated to position A1, with Ghana and Burkina Faso, the only teams among the 12 who participated in the last edition of the CAN Total U20 drawn into B1 & C1 positions. All the other teams were in the same level and were distributed over the three groups.

HostsPot 1Pot 2

Match officials

A total of 16 referees and 18 assistant referees were appointed for the tournament. [9]

Group stage

The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter finals along with the two best 3rd placed teams.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 71):[ citation needed ]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Drawing of lots.

All times are in WAT (UTC+1). [10]

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 330061+59
2Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 320142+26
3Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania (H)31023303
4Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 30031870
Source: [ citation needed ]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host
Mauritania  Flag of Mauritania.svg0–1Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Report
  • Jang Junior Soccerball shade.svg81'
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Mutaz Ibrahim Al-Shalmani (Libya)
Uganda  Flag of Uganda.svg2–0Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)

Cameroon  Flag of Cameroon.svg1–0Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djama (Djibouti)
Mauritania  Flag of Mauritania.svg2–0Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Mahamat Alhadji Allaou (Chad)

Mozambique  Flag of Mozambique.svg1–4Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Report
Mauritania  Flag of Mauritania.svg1–2Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Ibrahim Kalilou Traoré (Ivory Coast)

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 321041+37
2Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 31114514 [lower-alpha 1]
3Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 311132+14 [lower-alpha 1]
4Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 30121431
Source: [ citation needed ]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Ranked on head-to-head points: Central African Republic 3pts, Tunisia 0pts.
Burkina Faso  Flag of Burkina Faso.svg0–0Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Report
Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya, Nouakchott
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)
Namibia  Flag of Namibia.svg1–1Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic
Report
Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya, Nouakchott
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)

Tunisia  Flag of Tunisia.svg2–0Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia
Report
Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya, Nouakchott
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)
Burkina Faso  Flag of Burkina Faso.svg3–1Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic
Report
  • Ngoma Soccerball shade.svg32'

Burkina Faso  Flag of Burkina Faso.svg1–0Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia
Report
Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya, Nouakchott
Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)
Tunisia  Flag of Tunisia.svg1–2Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Messie Jessie Nkounkou Mvoutou (Congo)

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 321040+47
2Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 31113304 [lower-alpha 1]
3Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 311152+34 [lower-alpha 1]
4Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 30121871
Source: [ citation needed ]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Ranked on head-to-head points: Gambia 3pts, Ghana 0pts.
Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svg4–0Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania
Report
Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou
Referee: Mehrez Melki (Tunisia)
Gambia  Flag of The Gambia.svg0–1Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Report
Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou
Referee: Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)

Tanzania  Flag of Tanzania.svg1–1Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Report
Morocco  Flag of Morocco.svg0–0Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
Report
Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou
Referee: Abdelaziz Bouh (Mauritania)

Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svg1–2Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Report
Tanzania  Flag of Tanzania.svg0–3Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Report
Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)

Ranking of third-placed teams

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1 C Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 311152+34
2 B Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 311132+14
3 A Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 31023303
Source: [ citation needed ]

Knockout stage

 
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
          
 
25 February 2021 – Stade Olympique
 
 
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 1 (2)
 
1 March 2021 – Stade Olympique
 
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana (pen.)1 (4)
 
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 1
 
26 February 2021 – Stade Olympique
 
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 0
 
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 0
 
6 March 2021 – Cheikha Ould Boïdiya
 
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 3
 
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 2
 
25 February 2021 – Cheikha Ould Boïdiya
 
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 0
 
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 0 (3)
 
1 March 2021 – Stade Olympique
 
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda (pen.)0 (5)
 
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 4
 
26 February 2021 – Stade Municipal
 
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 1 Third place
 
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 0 (1)
 
5 March 2021 – Stade Olympique
 
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia (pen.)0 (4)
 
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia (pen.)0 (4)
 
 
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 0 (2)
 

Quarter finals

Cameroon  Flag of Cameroon.svg1–1 (a.e.t.)Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
Report
Penalties
2–4
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Mahamat Alhadji Allaou (Chad)

Burkina Faso  Flag of Burkina Faso.svg0–0 (a.e.t.)Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Report
Penalties
3–5
Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya, Nouakchott
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)

Morocco  Flag of Morocco.svg0–0 (a.e.t.)Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Report
Penalties
1–4
Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou
Referee: Mutaz Ibrahim Al-Shalmani (Libya)

Central African Republic  Flag of the Central African Republic.svg0–3Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Abdelaziz Bouh (Mauritania)

Semi finals

Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svg1–0Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djama (Djibouti)

Uganda  Flag of Uganda.svg4–1Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Basangwa Soccerball shade.svg4'
Kakooza Soccerball shade.svg37', 50', 73'
Report Ben Lamin Soccerball shade.svg39'
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

Third place

Final

Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svg2–0Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Report
Stade Olympique (Nouakchott)
Referee: Abdelaziz Bouh (Mauritania)

Winners

 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations 
Flag of Ghana.svg
Ghana
Fourth title

CAF Team of the Tournament

Source: [11]

Coach: Flag of Uganda.svg Morley Byekwaso

GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
Flag of Ghana.svg Ibrahim Danlad Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Flory Yangao
Flag of Cameroon.svg Blondon Meyapya
Flag of The Gambia.svg Lamin Jawara
Flag of Uganda.svg Aziz Kayondo
Flag of Morocco.svg El Mehdi Moubarik
Flag of The Gambia.svg Lamarana Jallow
Flag of Tunisia.svg Chiheb Labidi
Flag of Ghana.svg Abdul Fatawu
Flag of Uganda.svg Derrick Kakooza
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg Joffrey Bazié

Individual awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. [11]

Player of the Tournament
Top scorer
Golden Glove

Goalscorers

There have been 52 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match (as of 1 March 2021).

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Final standings

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by a penalty shoot-out are counted as draws.

Pos.TeamPldWDLPtsGFGAGD
1Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 63211193+6
2Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 63121085+3
3Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 6222864+2
4Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 6132646−2
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 4301972+5
6Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 4220840+4
7Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 4220841+3
8Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 4112448−4
Eliminated in group stage
9Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 31023330
10Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 3012114−3
11Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 3012118−7
12Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 3012118−7

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References

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