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This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 September 2022 – 28 March 2023 |
| Teams | 38 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 60 |
| Goals scored | 133 (2.22 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | (4 goals each) |
← 2019 2027 → | |
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.
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.[1] 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) |
|---|---|---|
|
- Did not enter
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.
All matches were played during the FIFA International Window and its schedules were as follows:[2]
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0–0 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Niger | 4–2 | Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Camará  78', 88' |
Referee: Adaari Abdul-Latif (Ghana)
Niger won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Tanzania | 0–0 | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Stade Huye, Butare (Rwanda)[note 1]
Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)
Tanzania won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
| Eswatini | 2–0 | Botswana |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Referee: Mathews Hamalila (Zambia)
| Botswana | 2–1 | Eswatini |
|---|---|---|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
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, 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.
Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or, Saint Pierre
Mozambique won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Burkina Faso | 0–1 | Gambia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bojang 78' (pen.) |
Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou (Benin)[note 2]
Referee: Abubakar Abdullahi (Nigeria)
| Gambia | 1–2 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Bâ 82' |
Report |
Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh (Morocco)[note 3]
Burkina Faso won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)
Rwanda won 4–4 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
| Madagascar | 5–0 | Seychelles |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Referee: Dharamveer Hurbungs (Mauritius)
| Seychelles | 1–7 | Madagascar |
|---|---|---|
| Aboudou 4' |
Report |
|
Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo (Madagascar)[note 4]
Madagascar won 12–1 on aggregate.
Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda (Angola)
Angola won 8–1 on aggregate.
| 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[A] |  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[B][C] |  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:
| Niger | 0–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Referee: Hamidou Diero (Burkina Faso)
| Ivory Coast | 1–1 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Traoré 59' |
Report | Amoustapha 46' |
Niger won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)
Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)
Sudan won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Referee: Souleiman Djama (Djibouti)
Referee: Gnama Aklesso (Togo)
Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.
Referee: Retselisitsoe Molise (Lesotho)
Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.
SKD Sports Complex, Monrovia (Liberia)[note 5]
Zambia won 2–1 on aggregate.
Referee: Moussa Ahmadou Alou (Niger)
| South Africa | 0–0 | Togo |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda)
South Africa on 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)
Congo won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Referee: Santillan da Costa (São Tomé and Príncipe)
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)
DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.
Referee: Ibrahim Tsimanohitsy (Madagascar)
Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)
Ghana won 4–1 on aggregate.
Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou (Benin)[note 2]
Referee: Younoussa Camara (Guinea)
Senegal won 5–3 on penalties and advanced to the final round.
Referee: Hassan Hagi (Somalia)
Referee: Stanislas Ahomlanto (Benin)
Mali won 2–1 on aggregate.
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
Gabon won 5–0 on aggregate.
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)
Cameroon won 3–2 on aggregate.
Winners qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
| Niger | 0–0 | Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Sudan | 1–2 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Manu 88' |
Report |
|
Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi)
Niger won 2–1 on aggregate.
Referee: Sabri Mohamed Fadul (Sudan)
Stade Moulay Hassan, Rabat (Morocco)
Referee: Yannick Kabanga Malala (DR Congo)
Guinea won 2–0 on aggregate.
Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)
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 |
Congo won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Referee: Hassen Corneh (Liberia)
Referee: Younoussa Tawel Camara (Guinea)
Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate.
Referee: Abdulsalam Kassim (Nigeria)
Mali won 4–3 on aggregate.
Gabon won 7–6 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on aggregate.
The following eight teams qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.[15]
| 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.
There were 133 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.22 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
Chemseddine Bekkouche
Daniel Afriyie
El Hadari Raheriniaina
2 goals
- Mohamed Islam Belkhir
Bito- Capita
- Zini
Ivan Ndjantou
Gloire Bassinga
Jonathan Ikangalombo
Emmanuel Ovono- Abdul Fatawu Issahaku
Mamadi Camará
Nour al-Din Al-Qulaib
Zidane Sidat
Salam Boulhassane
Success Makanjuola
Clément Niyigena
Ally Msengi
Kevin Laba
1 goal
- Benarfa
- Benvindo Afonso
- Picas
- Melono Dala
Boladji Abdou- Gaël Dassi
- Soumaïla Hounkpè
Tawana Mbakile- Tefo Molefe
Kouamé Botué- Cyrille Dao
- Etienne Eto'o
- Djawal Kaiba
- Love Bissila
- John Bakata
- Akram Bongonga
- Gloire Mujaya
- Patient Mwamba
Ibrahim Adel- Abdelrahman Atef
- Osama Faisal
Bongiswa Dlamini- Neliswa Dlamini
- Sambulo Simelane
- Ben Kabinambele
- Hants Mbenga
- Jeremie Moussango
- Yohann Nkoghe
Mamadou Bâ- Momodou Bojang
- Sylvester Simba
Algassime Bah- Alseny Soumah
Seydou Traoré- Fadel Salama
- Ali Yousef
- Joël Jinidy
- Kalvin Paul
- Lalane Randrianandrasana
- Claude Ratsimbazafy
Hamidou Diallo- Thiemoko Diarra
- Ahmed Diomandé
- Kamory Doumbia
- Mamadou Sangare
- Kalifa Traoré
Sidi Ahmed Mohamed El Abd
David Aristide- Gaby
- Ivan
- Gianluca Lorenzoni
- Horácio Vilanculos
Gonzales Tsuseb- Abdoul Rachid Amoumane
- Abiodun Ogunniyi
- Ashraf Kamanzi
- Prince Rudasingwa
Mamadou Lamine Camara- Ibrahima Dramé
- Abdallah Sima
Affandi Aboudou
Alie Conteh
Ashley Cupido- Thapelo Maseko
- Antonio van Wyk
Rahan Angier- Dani Lual
- Joseph Malish
Ali Abdalah- John Manu
- Al-Jezoli Nouh
- Kelvin John
- Abdul Sopu
- Bruno Avotor
- Aboudou Wetchire
Adem Garreb- Hamdi Labidi
Joshua Mutale- Andrew Phiri
1 own goal
- Pamphile Winsavi (against Sudan)
- Yoro Mamadou Diaby (against Rwanda)
- Graham Fauré (against Madagascar)
- 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]
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