2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round

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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.

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[edit]

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 1 Pot 2

 Lesotho (145)
 Eswatini (146)
 Botswana (148)
 Gambia (150)
 South Sudan (167)
 Mauritius (172)

 Chad (180)
 São Tomé and Príncipe (189)
 Djibouti (192)
 Somalia (194)
 Seychelles (197)
 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[edit]

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 score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eritrea  awd.  Botswana Canc. Canc.
São Tomé and Príncipe  4–3  Mauritius 1–0 3–3
Djibouti  2–5  South Sudan 2–4 0–1
Seychelles  1–3  Lesotho 0–0 1–3
Somalia  1–5  Eswatini 0–3 1–2
Chad  2–3  Gambia 0–1 2–2
São Tomé and Príncipe 1–0 Mauritius
  • Leal 36'
 Report
Mauritius 3–3 São Tomé and Príncipe
 Report

São Tomé and Príncipe won 4–3 on aggregate.

Djibouti 2–4 South Sudan
 Report
South Sudan 1–0 Djibouti
 Report

South Sudan won 5–2 on aggregate.

Seychelles 0–0 Lesotho
Report
Lesotho 3–1 Seychelles
 Report

Lesotho won 3–1 on aggregate.

Somalia 0–3 Eswatini
Report
Eswatini 2–1 Somalia
 Report

Eswatini won 5–1 on aggregate.

Chad 0–1 Gambia
Report
Gambia 2–2 Chad
 Report

Gambia won 3–2 on aggregate.

Goalscorers[edit]

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

2 goals

1 goal

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "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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