2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Last updated
2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates9 October 2019 – 15 June 2021
Teams52 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played150
Goals scored335 (2.23 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Nigeria.svg Victor Osimhen
Flag of Zambia.svg Patson Daka
(5 goals each)
2019
2023

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the 33rd edition of the international men's football championship of Africa. A total of 24 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Cameroon who qualified automatically as hosts.

Contents

Draw

The draw took place on 18 July 2019, 18:30 CAT (UTC+2), in Cairo, Egypt. [1] A total of 52 teams entered the tournament, including the hosts Cameroon, while Eritrea and Somalia chose to not enter the qualifiers.

Seeding

The teams were seeded based upon their June 2019 FIFA World Rankings (ranking shown in parentheses). [2] All 44 teams from Pot 1 to Pot 4 entered the competition at the group stage, while teams from Pot 5 had to compete at the preliminary round in order to advance to the group stage.

Each group contained one team from Pot 1, 2 and 3. Groups from A to D contained a winning team from the preliminary round, while groups from E to L contained a team from Pot 4. Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.

PotPot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4Pot 5
Teams

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying competition was as follows. After the rescheduling of the final tournament from June/July to January/February, the dates of matchdays 3–6 of the group stage were also rescheduled. [3]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches of matchdays 3 and 4 scheduled for March 2020 were postponed until further notice. [4] FIFA recommended that all June 2020 international matches (matchday 5) be postponed, [5] and also postponed the September 2020 window (matchday 6) for CAF. [6]

On 30 June 2020, the CAF announced the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final tournament had been postponed from January 2021 to January 2022, without announcing the new dates of the remaining qualifiers. [7] On 19 August 2020, CAF announced the second revised dates for both Africa Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup qualifiers. [8]

RoundMatchdayDatesMatches
Original datesRevised datesSecond revised dates
Preliminary round First leg9 October 2019Team 1 vs. Team 2
Second leg13 October 2019Team 2 vs. Team 1
Group stage Matchday 113–16 November 2019Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Matchday 217–19 November 2019Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 3
Matchday 331 August – 8 September 202023–31 March 20209–17 November 2020Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Matchday 4Team 3 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 55–13 October 20201–9 June 202022–30 March 2021, 15 June 2021Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 69–17 November 202031 August – 8 September 2020Team 1 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 2

Preliminary round

All eight teams from Pot 5 were drawn into four ties and played in home-and-away two-legged format. The four winners advanced to the group stage to join the 44 teams which entered directly. They went to positions A4, B4, C4 and D4 respectively based on their tie number.

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Liberia  Flag of Liberia.svg1–1 (4–5 p)Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 1–0 0–1
South Sudan  Flag of South Sudan.svg3–1Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles 2–1 1–0
Mauritius  Flag of Mauritius.svg2–5Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe 1–3 1–2
Djibouti  Flag of Djibouti.svg2–2 (2–3 p)Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 1–1 1–1

Group stage

The 48 teams were drawn into twelve groups of four teams (from Group A to Group L). Teams consisted of the 44 teams which entered directly, in addition to the four winners of the preliminary round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations hosts, Cameroon, participated in the qualifiers with the team guaranteed a spot in the finals regardless of its ranking in the group. Their matches and results counted in determining the qualification of the other teams from their group. If Cameroon had finished out of top two teams in their group, a group runner-up would not have qualified for the main tournament.

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 were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 14):

  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. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Drawing of lots.
  The twelve group winners and runners-up qualified for the final tournament.

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Mali.svgFlag of Guinea.svgFlag of Namibia.svgFlag of Chad.svg
1Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 6411104+613 Final tournament 2–2 1–0 3–0 [lower-alpha 1]
2Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea 632185+311 1–0 2–0 1–0
3Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 630387+19 1–2 2–1 2–1
4Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 6015212101 0–2 1–1 0–3 [lower-alpha 1]
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. 1 2 On 22 March 2021, CAF disqualified Chad due to government interference. As a result, the two final matches involving Chad were cancelled and awarded as 3–0 wins for their opponents. [9]

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Burkina Faso.svgFlag of Malawi.svgFlag of Uganda.svgFlag of South Sudan (2011-2023, upright star).svg
1Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 633062+412 Final tournament 3–1 0–0 1–0
2Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 631245110 0–0 1–0 1–0
3Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 622232+18 0–0 2–0 1–0
4Flag of South Sudan (2011-2023, upright star).svg  South Sudan 61052643 1–2 0–1 1–0
Source: CAF

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Ghana.svgFlag of Sudan.svgFlag of South Africa.svgFlag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg
1Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 641193+613 Final tournament 2–0 2–0 3–1
2Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 640293+612 1–0 2–0 4–0
3Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 631287+110 1–1 1–0 2–0
4Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe 6006316130 0–1 0–2 2–4
Source: CAF

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of The Gambia.svgFlag of Gabon.svgFlag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svgFlag of Angola.svg
1Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 631297+210 [lower-alpha 1] Final tournament 2–1 2–2 1–0
2Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon 631286+210 [lower-alpha 1] 2–1 3–0 2–1
3Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  DR Congo 62314519 1–0 0–0 0–0
4Flag of Angola.svg  Angola 61144734 1–3 2–0 0–1
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points (3), on head-to-head goal difference (0), on head-to-head goals scored (3), on head-to-head away goals scored (1) and on overall goal difference (+2). Overall goals scored: Gambia 9, Gabon 8.

Group E

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Morocco.svgFlag of Mauritania.svgFlag of Burundi.svgFlag of the Central African Republic.svg
1Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 6420101+914 Final tournament 0–0 1–0 4–1
2Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 623154+19 0–0 1–1 2–0
3Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 612361045 0–3 3–1 2–2
4Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 611451164 0–2 0–1 2–0
Source: CAF

Group F

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Cameroon.svgFlag of Cape Verde.svgFlag of Rwanda.svgFlag of Mozambique.svg
1Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 632184+411 Final tournament 0–0 0–0 4–1
2Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde 624063+310 3–1 0–0 2–2
3Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 61321326 0–1 0–0 1–0
4Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 611451054 0–2 0–1 2–0
Source: CAF

Group G

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Egypt.svgFlag of the Comoros.svgFlag of Kenya.svgFlag of Togo.svg
1Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 6330103+712 Final tournament 4–0 1–1 1–0
2Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros 62314629 0–0 2–1 0–0
3Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 61417707 1–1 1–1 1–1
4Flag of Togo.svg  Togo 60243852 1–3 0–1 1–2
Source: CAF

Group H

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Algeria.svgFlag of Zimbabwe.svgFlag of Zambia.svgFlag of Botswana.svg
1Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 6420196+1314 Final tournament 3–1 5–0 5–0
2Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 62226828 2–2 0–2 0–0
3Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 621381247 3–3 1–2 2–1
4Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 61142974 0–1 0–1 1–0
Source: CAF

Group I

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Senegal.svgFlag of Guinea-Bissau.svgFlag of the Republic of the Congo.svgFlag of Eswatini.svg
1Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 6420102+814 Final tournament 2–0 2–0 1–1
2Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau 630397+29 0–1 3–0 3–0
3Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Congo 62225508 0–0 3–0 2–0
4Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 6024313102 1–4 1–3 0–0
Source: CAF

Group J

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Tunisia.svgFlag of Equatorial Guinea.svgFlag of Tanzania.svgFlag of Libya.svg
1Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 6510145+916 Final tournament 2–1 1–0 4–1
2Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea 63037709 0–1 1–0 1–0
3Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 62135617 1–1 2–1 1–0
4Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 610571583 2–5 2–3 2–1
Source: CAF

Group K

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Cote d'Ivoire.svgFlag of Ethiopia.svgFlag of Madagascar.svgFlag of Niger.svg
1Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 6411115+613 Final tournament 3–1 2–1 1–0
2Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 6303106+49 2–1 4–0 3–0
3Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 62229908 1–1 1–0 0–0
4Flag of Niger.svg  Niger 6114313104 0–3 1–0 2–6
Source: CAF

Group L

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Nigeria.svgFlag of Sierra Leone.svgFlag of Benin.svgFlag of Lesotho.svg
1Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 6420147+714 Final tournament 4–4 2–1 3–0
2Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 61416607 0–0 1–0 1–1
3Flag of Benin.svg  Benin 62133417 0–1 1–0 1–0
4Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 60333963 2–4 0–0 0–0
Source: CAF

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

TeamQualified asQualified onPrevious appearances in Africa Cup of Nations 1
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon Hosts / Group F winners8 January 201919 (1970, 1972 , 1982, 1984 , 1986, 1988 , 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000 , 2002 , 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017 , 2019)
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali Group A winners17 November 202011 (1972, 1994, 2002 , 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea Group A runners-up24 March 202112 (1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2019)
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso Group B winners24 March 202111 (1978, 1996, 1998 , 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi Group B runners-up29 March 20212 (1984, 2010)
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Group C winners25 March 202122 ( 1963 , 1965 , 1968, 1970, 1978 , 1980, 1982 , 1984, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 , 2002, 2006, 2008 , 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan Group C runners-up28 March 20218 ( 1957 , 1959, 1963, 1970 , 1972, 1976, 2008, 2012)
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia Group D winners25 March 20210 (debut)
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon Group D runners-up25 March 20217 (1994, 1996, 2000, 2010, 2012 , 2015, 2017 )
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco Group E winners26 March 202117 (1972, 1976 , 1978, 1980, 1986, 1988 , 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania Group E runners-up30 March 20211 (2019)
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde Group F runners-up30 March 20212 (2013, 2015)
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Group G winners25 March 202124 ( 1957 , 1959 , 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974 , 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986 , 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 , 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 , 2008 , 2010 , 2017, 2019 )
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros Group G runners-up25 March 20210 (debut)
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria Group H winners16 November 202018 (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990 , 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 )
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe Group H runners-up25 March 20214 (2004, 2006, 2017, 2019)
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal Group I winners15 November 202015 (1965, 1968, 1986, 1990, 1992 , 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau Group I runners-up30 March 20212 (2017, 2019)
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Group J winners17 November 202019 (1962, 1963, 1965 , 1978, 1982, 1994 , 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 , 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea Group J runners-up25 March 20212 ( 2012 , 2015 )
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast Group K winners26 March 202123 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984 , 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992 , 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 , 2017, 2019)
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Group K runners-up30 March 202110 (1957, 1959, 1962 , 1963, 1965, 1968 , 1970, 1976 , 1982, 2013)
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Group L winners27 March 202118 (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980 , 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994 , 2000 , 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013 , 2019)
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone Group L runners-up 15 June 20212 (1994, 1996)
1Bold indicates champions for that year. Italics indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 335 goals scored in 150 matches, for an average of 2.23 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

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Group K of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Ivory Coast, Niger, Madagascar, and Ethiopia.

Group H of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Algeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.

Group A of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Mali, Guinea, Namibia, and Chad.

Group B of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, and South Sudan.

Group C of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Ghana, South Africa, Sudan, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Group D of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: DR Congo, Gabon, Angola and Gambia.

Group E of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Morocco, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, and Burundi.

Group F of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided one of the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Rwanda.

Group G of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Egypt, Kenya, Togo, and Comoros.

Group I of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Senegal, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and Eswatini.

Group J of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Tunisia, Libya, Tanzania, and Equatorial Guinea.

Group L of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament was one of the twelve groups that decided the teams which qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament. The group consisted of four teams: Nigeria, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Lesotho.

References

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  6. "FIFA Council unanimously approves COVID-19 Relief Plan". FIFA.com. 25 June 2020.
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