2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

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)
(4 goals each)

This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of 8 teams, including automatically qualified hosts Morocco, qualified to play in the group stages of this edition of the tournament, which also doubled as the first stage of the African qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in France.

Teams

Apart from Morocco, the remaining 53 CAF members were eligible to enter qualification and a total of 38 national teams entered its draw which was announced on 18 August 2022. Eighteen best teams from the previous edition and its qualification procedures were given a bye to the second round.

Main tournament edition 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

All matches were played during the FIFA International Window and its schedules were as follows:

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 First leg 22–28 March 2023
Second leg

First round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 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


Guinea-Bissau0–0Niger
Report
Niger4–2Guinea-Bissau
  • Boulhassane 36'
  • Amoustapha 47', 67'
  • Amoumane 50'
 Report Camará 78', 88'
Referee: Adaari Abdul-Latif (Ghana)

Niger won 4–2 on aggregate.

Tanzania0–0South Sudan
Report
South Sudan3–3Tanzania
 Report
Stade Huye, Butare (Rwanda)
Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)

Tanzania won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Eswatini2–0Botswana
  • B. Dlamini 45'
  • Simelane 48'
 Report
Referee: Mathews Hamalila (Zambia)
Botswana2–1Eswatini
  • Molefe 30'
  • Mbakile 45'
 Report N. Dlamini 75'

Eswatini won 3–2 on aggregate.

Mauritania1–0Togo
El Abd 90+4' Report
Referee: Alhasan Bass (Gambia)
Togo2–0Mauritania
  • Avotor 47'
  • Laba 68'
 Report
Referee: Tanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)

Togo won 2–1 on aggregate.

EthiopiaVoided
(0–0)		DR Congo
Report
DR CongoVoided
(1–0)		Ethiopia
Bongonga 74' Report

DR Congo won 1–0 on aggregate, but later got disqualified and had its result forfeited for fielding ineligible players. Although Ethiopia advanced to the final round, they chose not to compete and thus Algeria advanced in their place.

Mozambique3–0Mauritius
 Report
Mauritius1–2Mozambique
Aristide 90+1' (pen.) Report
  • Sidat 14'
  • Ivan 82'
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre

Mozambique won 5–1 on aggregate.

Burkina Faso0–1Gambia
Report Bojang 78' (pen.)
Referee: Abubakar Abdullahi (Nigeria)
Gambia1–2Burkina Faso
Bâ 82' Report

Burkina Faso won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Libya4–1Rwanda
  • Al-Qulaib 20' (pen.), 48'
  • Yousef 52'
  • Salama 88'
 Report Kamanzi 76'
Rwanda3–0Libya
  • Niyigena 38', 53'
  • Rudasingwa 72' (pen.)
 Report
Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)

Rwanda won 4–4 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Madagascar5–0Seychelles
 Report
Referee: Dharamveer Hurbungs (Mauritius)
Seychelles1–7Madagascar
Aboudou 4' Report

Madagascar won 12–1 on aggregate.

Angola2–1Namibia
  • Bito 63'
  • Picas 70'
 Report Tsuseb 58'
Namibia0–6Angola
Report
  • Benvindo 5'
  • Benarfa 23'
  • Capita 29', 76'
  • Bito 46'
  • Melono 84'

Angola won 8–1 on aggregate.

Second round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 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 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 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.
  2. DR Congo originally won the tie, but were later disqualified after competing in the second round for fielding ineligible players. Algeria advanced to the final round.
  3. Algeria won on a walkover after Ethiopia withdrew from the competition.


Niger0–0Ivory Coast
Report
Referee: Hamidou Diero (Burkina Faso)
Ivory Coast1–1Niger
Traoré 59' Report Amoustapha 46'

Niger won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Sudan2–0Benin
 Report
Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)
Benin3–1Sudan
  • Abdou 38'
  • Dassi 42'
  • Hounkpè 72'
 Report Winsavi 82' (o.g.)
Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)

Sudan won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Tanzania1–1Nigeria
Msengi 76' (pen.) Report Makanjuola 29' (pen.)
Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)
Nigeria2–0Tanzania
  • Ogunniyi 59'
  • Makanjuola 67' (pen.)
 Report
Referee: Gnama Aklesso (Togo)

Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.

Eswatini0–0Egypt
Report
Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)
Egypt1–0Eswatini
Faisal 70' Report

Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.

Sierra Leone1–1Zambia
A. Conteh 58' (pen.) Report Mutale 90' (pen.)
Zambia1–0Sierra Leone
Phiri 65' Report

Zambia won 2–1 on aggregate.

Togo2–2South Africa
  • Laba 21'
  • Wetchire 80' (pen.)
 Report
Referee: Moussa Ahmadou Alou (Niger)
South Africa0–0Togo
Report
Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda)

South Africa on 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Congo1–0Tunisia
Bassinga 1' Report
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)
Tunisia2–1Congo
 Report Bassinga 85'
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)

Conogo won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

DR CongoVoided
(4–1)		Algeria
  • Mujaya 3'
  • Ikangalombo 20', 23'
  • Bakata 56'
 Report Bekkouche 85'
Referee: Santillan da Costa (São Tomé and Príncipe)
AlgeriaVoided
(3–1)		DR Congo
 Report Mwamba 58'
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)

DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.

Mozambique1–2Ghana
Vilanculos 88' Report Afriyie 65' (pen.), 76' (pen.)
Referee: Ibrahim Tsimanohitsy (Madagascar)
Ghana2–0Mozambique
 Report

Ghana won 4–1 on aggregate.

Burkina Faso0–0Senegal
Report
Senegal0–0Burkina 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)

Senegal won 5–3 on penalties and advanced to the final round.

Rwanda1–1Mali
Diaby 44' (o.g.) Report Diomandé 43'
Referee: Hassan Hagi (Somalia)
Mali1–0Rwanda
Traoré 35' Report
Referee: Stanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)

Mali won 2–1 on aggregate.

Madagascar0–1Gabon
Report Ovono 65'
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
Gabon4–0Madagascar
  • Mbenga 4'
  • Ovono 21'
  • Kabinambele 56'
  • Nkoghe 80'
 Report

Gabon won 5–0 on aggregate.

Angola2–3Cameroon
Zini 14', 88' Report
  • Kaiba 7'
  • Ndjantou 65', 73'
Cameroon0–0Angola
Report
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

Cameroon won 3–2 on aggregate.

Third round

Winners qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 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
Niger0–0Sudan
Report
Sudan1–2Niger
Manu 88' Report
Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi)

Niger won 2–1 on aggregate.

Nigeria0–0Guinea
Report
Referee: Sabri Mohamed Fadul (Sudan)
Guinea2–0Nigeria
  • Bah 61'
  • Soumah 76'
 Report
Referee: Yannick Kabanga Malala (DR Congo)

Guinea won 2–0 on aggregate.

Egypt2–0Zambia
 Report
Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)
Zambia0–0Egypt
Report
Referee: Jeannot Franck Bito (Cameroon)

Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.

South Africa1–1Congo
Maseko 67' Report Bissila 44'

Congo won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.

Algeria1–1Ghana
Bekkouche 90+2' Report Issahaku 86'
Referee: Hassen Corneh (Liberia)
Ghana1–0Algeria
Issahaku 12' Report
Referee: Younoussa Tawel Camara (Guinea)

Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate.

Senegal3–1Mali
 Report Diarra 60'
Referee: Abdulsalam Kassim (Nigeria)
Mali3–0Senegal
 Report

Mali won 4–3 on aggregate.

Gabon1–0Cameroon
Moussango 13' Report

Gabon won 7–6 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on aggregate.

Qualified teams

The following eight teams qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

Team Qualified on Previous U-23 Africa Cup of Nations appearances1
Morocco (hosts) 7 July 2022 1 (2011)
Egypt 26 March 2023 3 (2011, 2015, 2019)
Congo 27 March 2023 0 (debut)
Gabon 28 March 2023 1 (2011)
Ghana 28 March 2023 1 (2019)
Guinea 28 March 2023 0 (debut)
Mali 28 March 2023 2 (2015, 2019)
Niger 28 March 2023 0 (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

1 own goal

  • Pamphile Winsavi (against Sudan)
  • Yoro Mamadou Diaby (against Rwanda)
  • Graham Fauré (against Madagascar)