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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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23–29 March 2022 |
| Teams | 12 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Goals scored | 29 (2.9 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Six players (2 goals each) |
← 2021 2025 → | |
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]
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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 |
|---|---|
|
|
|
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]
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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]
São Tomé and Príncipe  | 1–0 |  Mauritius |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre (Mauritius)
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre
São Tomé and Príncipe won 4–3 on aggregate.
Borg El Arab Stadium, Borg El Arab (Egypt)
South Sudan  | 1–0 |  Djibouti |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe (Uganda)
South Sudan won 5–2 on aggregate.
Seychelles  | 0–0 |  Lesotho |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre (Mauritius)
Dobsonville Stadium, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Lesotho won 3–1 on aggregate.
National Stadium, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela (South Africa)
Eswatini won 5–1 on aggregate.
Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé (Cameroon)
Gambia  | 2–2 |  Chad |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Stade Adrar, Agadir (Morocco)
Gambia won 3–2 on aggregate.
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There were 29 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 2.9 goals per match.
2 goals
1 goal
Ahmat Abderamane- Ezechiel N'Douassel
Samuel Akinbinu- Ibrahim Aden Warsama
Bonginkosi Dlamini- Sandile Gamedze
- Sabelo Ndzinisa
Bubacarr Trawally
Sera Motebang
Kévin Bru- Dylan Collard
- Ashley Nazira
Jean-Yves Perry Ernesta
Sak Hassan
Peter Chol- William Gama
- Rashid Toha
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