2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

This aticle 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)Madagascar Arnaud Randrianantenaina
Niger Kairou Amoustapha (4 goals each)

Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of eight teams, including automatically-qualified hosts Morocco, qualified to play in the main tournament. These matches also served as the first stage of the CAF qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in France.

Teams

Apart from Morocco, the remaining 53 members of were eligible to enter the qualifying competition, and a total of 38 national teams were in the qualifying draw, which was announced on 18 August 2022.[1] Eighteen best teams from the previous edition and its qualifying competition were given a bye to the second round.

Final tournament 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

The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.[2] All matches were played during the FIFA International Window.

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. 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

Notes:

    Guinea-Bissau 0–0 Niger
    Report
    Niger 4–2 Guinea-Bissau
    • Boulhassane 36'
    • Amoustapha 47', 67'
    • Amoumane 50'
    		 Report
    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)

    3–3 on aggregate. Tanzania won on away goals.

    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. DR Congo was later disqualified for fielding ineligible players and had the results forfeited. Ethiopia chose not to compete after DR Congo's disqualification, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.

    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
    Referee: Abubakar Abdullahi (Nigeria)
    Gambia 1–2 Burkina Faso
    • Bâ 82'
    		 Report

    2–2 on aggregate. Burkina Faso won on away goals.

    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)

    4–4 on aggregate. Rwanda won on away goals.

    Madagascar 5–0 Seychelles
    		 Report
    Referee: Dharamveer Hurbungs (Mauritius)
    Seychelles 1–7 Madagascar
    		 Report
    • Randrianandrasana 7'
    • Raheriniaina 11', 83'
    • Randrianantenaina 18', 66'
    • Fauré 54' (o.g.)
    • Ratsimbazafy 85'

    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. 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 due to them fielding an ineligible player. Thus, as a result 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

    1–1 on aggregate. Niger won on away goals.

    Sudan 2–0 Benin
    • Nouh 44'
    • Abdalah 80'
    		 Report
    Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)
    Benin 3–1 Sudan
    • Abdou 38'
    • Dassi 42'
    • Hounkpè 72'
    		 Report
    Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)

    3–3 on aggregate. Sudan won on away goals.

    Tanzania 1–1 Nigeria
    		 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
    		 Report

    Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.

    Sierra Leone 1–1 Zambia
    • A. Conteh 58' (pen.)
    		 Report
    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
    • Van Wyk 28'
    • Cupido 31' (pen.)
    Referee: Moussa Ahmadou Alou (Niger)
    South Africa 0–0 Togo
    Report
    Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda)

    2–2 on aggregate. South Africa won on away goals.

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

    2–2 on aggregate. Congo won on away goals.

    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 disqualified and Algeria advanced to the final round.

    Mozambique 1–2 Ghana
    • Vilanculos 88'
    		 Report
    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)

    0–0 on aggregate. Senegal won 5–3 on penalties.

    Rwanda 1–1 Mali
    		 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
    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
    		 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 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.

    Team 1 Agg. 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

    1–1 on aggregate. Congo won on away goals.

    Algeria 1–1 Ghana
    • Bekkouche 90+2'
    		 Report
    Referee: Hassen Corneh (Liberia)
    Ghana 1–0 Algeria
    		 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

    1–1 on aggregate. Gabon won 7–6 on penalties.

    Qualified teams

    The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament.[15]

    Team Qualified on Previous appearances in Africa U-23 Cup of Nations1
     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

    • Angola Benarfa
    • Angola Benvindo Afonso
    • Angola Picas
    • Angola Melono Dala
    • Benin Boladji Abdou
    • Benin Gaël Dassi
    • Benin Soumaïla Hounkpè
    • Botswana Tawana Mbakile
    • Botswana Tefo Molefe
    • Burkina Faso Kouamé Botué
    • Burkina Faso Cyrille Dao
    • Cameroon Etienne Eto'o
    • Cameroon Djawal Kaiba
    • Republic of the Congo Love Bissila
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo John Bakata
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo Akram Bongonga
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo Gloire Mujaya
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo Patient Mwamba
    • Egypt Ibrahim Adel
    • Egypt Abdelrahman Atef
    • Egypt Osama Faisal
    • Eswatini Bongiswa Dlamini
    • Eswatini Neliswa Dlamini
    • Eswatini Sambulo Simelane
    • Gabon Ben Kabinambele
    • Gabon Hants Mbenga
    • Gabon Jeremie Moussango
    • Gabon Yohann Nkoghe
    • The Gambia Mamadou Bâ
    • The Gambia Momodou Bojang
    • Ghana Sylvester Simba
    • Guinea Algassime Bah
    • Guinea Alseny Soumah
    • Ivory Coast Seydou Traoré
    • Libya Fadel Salama
    • Libya Ali Yousef
    • Madagascar Joël Jinidy
    • Madagascar Kalvin Paul
    • Madagascar Lalane Randrianandrasana
    • Madagascar Claude Ratsimbazafy
    • Mali Hamidou Diallo
    • Mali Thiemoko Diarra
    • Mali Ahmed Diomandé
    • Mali Kamory Doumbia
    • Mali Mamadou Sangare
    • Mali Kalifa Traoré
    • Mauritania Sidi Ahmed Mohamed El Abd
    • Mauritius David Aristide
    • Mozambique Gaby
    • Mozambique Ivan
    • Mozambique Gianluca Lorenzoni
    • Mozambique Horácio Vilanculos
    • Namibia Gonzales Tsuseb
    • Niger Abdoul Rachid Amoumane
    • Nigeria Abiodun Ogunniyi
    • Rwanda Ashraf Kamanzi
    • Rwanda Prince Rudasingwa
    • Senegal Mamadou Lamine Camara
    • Senegal Ibrahima Dramé
    • Senegal Abdallah Sima
    • Seychelles Affandi Aboudou
    • Sierra Leone Alie Conteh
    • South Africa Ashley Cupido
    • South Africa Thapelo Maseko
    • South Africa Antonio van Wyk
    • South Sudan Rahan Angier
    • South Sudan Dani Lual
    • South Sudan Joseph Malish
    • Sudan Ali Abdalah
    • Sudan John Manu
    • Sudan Al-Jezoli Nouh
    • Tanzania Kelvin John
    • Tanzania Abdul Sopu
    • Togo Bruno Avotor
    • Togo Aboudou Wetchire
    • Tunisia Adem Garreb
    • Tunisia Hamdi Labidi
    • Zambia Joshua Mutale
    • Zambia Andrew Phiri

    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 outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set according to the CAF regulations.[4][5]
    2. Burkina Faso played their home matches outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set according to the CAF regulations.[6]
    3. Gambia played their home matches in Morocco, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set according to the CAF regulations.[7]
    4. Seychelles played their home matches outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set according to the CAF 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. "Total AFCON U-23: Draw of U-23 Afcon qualifications matches". CAFOnline.com. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
    2. "The road to the TotalEnergies U23 AFCON, Morocco 2023". CAF.
    3. "The race towards TotalEnergies U23 AFCON and 2024 Olympics peaks as African teams prepare for Third Round of Qualifiers". CAF. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
    4. "Impressive CAF Champions League victories for Tanzanian clubs". News 9 Live. 11 September 2022.
    5. Chol, ElSheikh (29 August 2022). "AL Hilal, Zalan FC risk missing CAF as Tanzania demands $17,000 for stadium rent". Eye Radio.
    6. "RC Kadiogo vs Asante Kotoko moved to Benin". Modern Ghana. 8 September 2022.
    7. Camara, Arfang (26 September 2022). "Gambia To Play Burkina Faso In Afcon U-23 Return Leg Fixture Tomorrow". Voice Gambia.
    8. "Sundowns to host both legs of Champions League tie". Super Sport. 4 October 2022.
    9. "La Guinée qualifiée au troisième tour après le retrait de l'Ouganda". lekaloum.com (in French). 18 October 2022.
    10. "Menace de disqualification sur la RDC, l'Algérie vraiment repêchée ?". afrik-foot.com (in French). 27 January 2023.
    11. "Black Meteors to face Algeria in final round". ghanasoccernet.com. 1 March 2023.
    12. "L'ALGÉRIE QUALIFIÉE ET AFFRONTERA LE GHANA AU DERNIER TOUR". faf.dz (in French). Algerian Football Federation. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
    13. "Sierra Leone close stadium for $40m rehabilitation". Football Sierra Leone. 1 March 2022.
    14. Sang, Kiplagat (26 August 2022). "Liberia President Weah lauded for allowing Sierra Leone free stadium use". Goal.com.
    15. "Mali, Guinea through as TotalEnergies U23 AFCON qualifiers climax in style". CAF. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
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