2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round

Last updated
2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round
Tournament details
Dates23–29 March 2022
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played10
Goals scored29 (2.9 per match)
Top scorer(s) Six players
(2 goals each)
← 2021
2025 →

The preliminary round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament decided the six teams which advanced to the group stage of the qualification tournament. The preliminary round consisted of the twelve lowest-ranked teams among the 54 entrants, and was held from 23 to 29 March 2022.

Contents

The twelve teams were split into six ties which were played in home-and-away two-legged format. [1] The six winners: Botswana (awarded), São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan, Lesotho, Eswatini and Gambia advanced to the group stage to join the 42 teams which entered directly. [2] [3]

Draw

The draw for the preliminary round was held on 21 January 2022 at 16:00 WAT (UTC+1) in Douala, Cameroon. [4] The twelve involved national teams were previously seeded into two pots of six based on the FIFA World Rankings from 23 December 2021 (shown in parentheses). [5]

The teams in bold qualified for the qualifying group stage. [6]

Pot 1Pot 2

Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho (145)
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini (146)
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana (148)
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia (150)
Flag of South Sudan (2011-2023, upright star).svg  South Sudan (167)
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius (172)

Flag of Chad.svg  Chad (180)
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe (189)
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti (192)
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia (194)
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles (197)
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea (202)

Former Cameroon captain Rigobert Song and Nigerian former player Emmanuel Amunike were the draw assistants during the ceremony. [7] The draw resulted in six ties. [1]

Matches

On 2 March 2022, Eritrea withdrew from the preliminary round. [8]

The first legs were played on 23 and 24 March, and the second legs were played on 27 and 29 March. [9]

In May, Mauritius were awarded a 3–0 win in their first leg against São Tomé and Príncipe, allowing them to reach the group stage with a 6–3 aggregate score, after the goalscorer for the latter Luís Leal was found to have breached the COVID-19 regulations. [10] [11] However, in June, São Tomé and Príncipe had their appeal honoured and the result of the first leg was allowed to stand, enabling them to qualify for the next stage 4–3 on aggregate. [12]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Eritrea  Flag of Eritrea.svgawd.Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana Canc.Canc.
São Tomé and Príncipe  Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg4–3Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius 1–0 3–3
Djibouti  Flag of Djibouti.svg2–5Flag of South Sudan (2011-2023, upright star).svg  South Sudan 2–4 0–1
Seychelles  Flag of Seychelles.svg1–3Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 0–0 1–3
Somalia  Flag of Somalia.svg1–5Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 0–3 1–2
Chad  Flag of Chad.svg2–3Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 0–1 2–2
São Tomé and Príncipe  Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg1–0Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius
  • Leal Soccerball shade.svg36'
 Report
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre (Mauritius)
Mauritius  Flag of Mauritius.svg3–3Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe
Report
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre

São Tomé and Príncipe won 4–3 on aggregate.

Djibouti  Flag of Djibouti.svg2–4Flag of South Sudan (2011-2023, upright star).svg  South Sudan
Report
Borg El Arab Stadium, Borg El Arab (Egypt)
South Sudan  Flag of South Sudan (2011-2023, upright star).svg1–0Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti
Report
St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe (Uganda)

South Sudan won 5–2 on aggregate.

Seychelles  Flag of Seychelles.svg0–0Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho
Report
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre (Mauritius)
Lesotho  Flag of Lesotho.svg3–1Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles
Report
Dobsonville Stadium, Johannesburg (South Africa)

Lesotho won 3–1 on aggregate.

Somalia  Flag of Somalia.svg0–3Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini
Report
National Stadium, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Eswatini  Flag of Eswatini.svg2–1Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia
Report
Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela (South Africa)

Eswatini won 5–1 on aggregate.

Chad  Flag of Chad.svg0–1Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Report
Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé (Cameroon)
Gambia  Flag of The Gambia.svg2–2Flag of Chad.svg  Chad
Report
Stade Adrar, Agadir (Morocco)

Gambia won 3–2 on aggregate.

Goalscorers

There were 29 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 2.9 goals per match.

2 goals

1 goal

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References

  1. 1 2 "Road to Cote d'Ivoire 2023 kicks off with Preliminary Draw conducted". Confederation of African Football. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Four sides progress to group phase of TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 qualifiers". Confederation of African Football. 27 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "Six countries qualify for TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 Group Stages". Confederation of African Football. 31 March 2022.
  4. ↑ "TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2023 Prelims draw, World Cup 2022 African Qualifiers draw dates, times announced". Confederation of African Football. 17 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Men's Ranking". FIFA. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. ↑ "Six countries qualify for TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 Group Stages". cafonline.com. CAF Communication Department. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Song, Amunike confirmed TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 Preliminary Round Draw Assistants". Confederation of African Football. 19 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "Botswana through as Eritrea pull out of Afcon 2023". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Gambia highlights preliminary TotalEnergies 2023 AFCON qualifiers". Confederation of African Football. 22 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Mohabuth, Yasine (16 May 2022). "Afcon 2023: São Tomé and Príncipe sanction means Mauritius will play in qualifiers". bbc.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Mauritius win 2023 AFCON qualifier slot after Sao Tome break covid rules". insideworldfootball.com. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Afcon 2023: Sao Tome reinstated to qualifiers as Mauritius ruled out". bbc.com. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
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