2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates 22 March 2017 – 26 March 2019
Teams 51 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 77
Goals scored 188 (2.44 per match)
Top scorer(s) Nigeria Odion Ighalo
Zimbabwe Knowledge Musona
(4 goals each)

The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches will be organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the 32nd edition of the international men's football championship of Africa.[1]

As per the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017, a total of 24 teams will qualify to play in the final tournament,[2] including Cameroon who qualified automatically as hosts.[3]

Draw

A total of 51 teams entered the tournament, including the hosts (Cameroon) which qualified automatically for the final tournament. The draw for the qualifications stage took place on 12 January 2017, 19:30 UTC+1, in Libreville, Gabon.[4]

Seeding

For seeding, the teams were ranked using CAF's own system which were calculated based on the team's performance in the three most recent editions the Africa Cup of Nations final tournaments, the three most recent editions the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup final tournament and qualifying campaign.[5]

The teams ranked 1–45 (Pots 1–4) directly entered the group stage, while the teams ranked 46–51 (Pot 5) entered the preliminary round.

Pot Rank Team Tournaments and weighting factor Total
2017
AFCON
Q		 2015
AFCON		 2015
AFCON
Q		 2013
AFCON		 2013
AFCON
Q		 2012
AFCON		 2014
FWC		 2014
FWC
Q
× 2 × 3 × 1 × 2 × 0.5 × 1 × 2 × 1
Pot 1 1  Ivory Coast 8 24 3 6 1.5 6 8 7 63.5
2  Ghana 8 18 4 8 1.5 4 6 7 56.5
3  Nigeria 6 2 16 1.5 12 7 44.5
4  Algeria 8 9 4 2 1.5 12 7 43.5
5  Tunisia 8 9 4 4 1.5 3 5 34.5
6  Mali 8 6 3 8 1.5 4 3 33.5
7  Burkina Faso 8 3 3 12 1.5 1 5 33.5
8  DR Congo 8 12 2 4 1.5 2 29.5
9  Cameroon (H) 8 3 4 1 6 7 29
10  Zambia 4 3 3 4 1.5 8 3 26.5
11  Cape Verde 6 6 4 6 1.5 3 26.5
12  Senegal 8 6 3 1 1 5 24
Pot 2 13  Gabon 6 6 4 1 3 2 22
14  Guinea 4 9 3 1 2 3 22
15  Congo 6 9 3 0.5 3 21.5
16  Equatorial Guinea 4 12 1 3 1 21
17  South Africa 4 3 4 6 3 20
18  Morocco 8 4 1.5 2 3 18.5
19  Egypt 8 2 0.5 5 15.5
20  Ethiopia 6 1 2 1.5 5 15.5
21  Togo 6 1 6 1.5 1 15.5
22  Angola 4 2 2 1.5 2 2 13.5
23  Uganda 6 2 1 3 12
24  Mozambique 6 2 1 2 11
Pot 3 25  Zimbabwe 8 1 1 10
26  Libya 4 1 2 3 10
27  Botswana 4 1 1 1 2 9
28  Niger 2 1 2 1.5 1 1 8.5
29  Benin 6 0.5 2 8.5
30  Guinea-Bissau 8 0.5 8.5
31  Malawi 2 2 1 3 8
32  Sudan 2 1 1 3 1 8
33  Sierra Leone 4 1 1 2 8
34  Central African Republic 6 1 1 8
35  Tanzania 4 0.5 2 6.5
36  Burundi 6 0.5 6.5
Pot 4 37  Mauritania 6 6
38  Swaziland 6 6
39  Liberia 4 1 1 6
40  Namibia 4 0.5 1 5.5
41  Rwanda 4 0.5 1 5.5
42  Lesotho 2 1 2 5
43  Kenya 2 0.5 2 4.5
44  Seychelles 4 0.5 4.5
45  Gambia 2 0.5 1 3.5
Pot 5 46  Madagascar 2 0.5 2.5
47  São Tomé and Príncipe 2 0.5 2.5
48  South Sudan 2 2
49  Comoros 2 2
50  Djibouti 2 2
51  Mauritius 2 2
No Pot 52  Chad[nb 1] 0.5 0.5
53  Eritrea[nb 2] 0
54  Somalia[nb 2] 0
Notes
  1. ↑ Chad were banned from entering by CAF due to their withdrawal from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament.[6]
  2. 1 2 Eritrea and Somalia did not enter.

Procedure

The nine teams from Pot 4 were drawn in Groups D to L, while the twelve teams from each of the Pots 3, 2 and 1 were drawn in Groups A to L. Then, the six teams from Pot 5 were drawn into three pairings, which would play in the preliminary round. The three winners would advance to Groups A, B and C of the group stage.[7]

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying tournament is as follows.

Round Matchday Dates Matches
Original dates[8] Revised dates[9]
Preliminary round First leg 20–28 March 2017 Team 1 vs. Team 2
Second leg Team 2 vs. Team 1
Group stage Matchday 1 5–13 June 2017 Team 1 vs. Team 2; Team 3 vs. Team 4
Matchday 2 19–27 March 2018 3–11 September 2018 Team 2 vs. Team 3; Team 4 vs. Team 1
Matchday 3 3–11 September 2018 8–16 October 2018 Team 1 vs. Team 3; Team 2 vs. Team 4
Matchday 4 Team 3 vs. Team 1; Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 5 8–16 October 2018 12–20 November 2018 Team 2 vs. Team 1; Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6 5–13 November 2018 18–26 March 2019 Team 3 vs. Team 2; Team 1 vs. Team 4

Matchday 2 were postponed at the request of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualified teams so that they can play friendly matches in March 2018 to prepare for the World Cup.[10][11]

Preliminary round

The six teams were drawn into three ties, played in home-and-away two-legged format. The three winners advanced to the group stage to join the 45 teams which entered directly.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
São Tomé and Príncipe  2–4  Madagascar 0–1 2–3
Comoros  3–1  Mauritius 2–0 1–1
Djibouti  2–6  South Sudan 2–0 0–6

Group stage

The 48 teams were drawn into 12 groups of four teams (from Group A to Group L). They consisted of the 45 teams which entered directly, plus the three winners of the preliminary round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.

The host Cameroon was drawn in Group B. The team was guaranteed a spot in the finals regardless of its ranking in the group, but the matches involving the team counted in determining the qualification of the other teams.

Originally, all group winners plus three best runners-up would have qualified for the finals. From Group B, if Cameroon had finished first or second, the other team placed in the top 2 would have qualified too and no other team would have been eligible to qualify, while if Cameroon had finished third or fourth, the group winner would have qualified and the runner-up would have been eligible to qualify as one of the three best runners-up.[7]

On 20 July 2017, when the first round of the qualifying group stage had already been played, the final tournament was expanded from 16 to 24 teams. Under the new format, the best-placed team other than Cameroon would now qualify from Group B, while the group winners and runners-up would qualify from all other groups.

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order (Regulations Article 14):[1]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Drawing of lots.
  The 12 group winners and runners-up qualify for the final tournament.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Senegal 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7 Final tournament — 18–26 Mar '19 3–0 3–0
2  Madagascar 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 2–2 — 16 Oct '18 12–20 Nov '18
3  Equatorial Guinea 3 1 0 2 1 4 −3 3 12–20 Nov '18 0–1 — 1–0
4  Sudan 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0 16 Oct '18 1–3 18–26 Mar '19 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Cameroon[lower-alpha 1] (Q) 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 7 Final tournament — 1–0 1–0 18–26 Mar '19
2  Morocco 3 2 0 1 4 1 +3 6 12–20 Nov '18 — 3–0 1–0
3  Malawi 3 1 0 2 1 4 −3 3 16 Oct '18 18–26 Mar '19 — 1–0
4  Comoros 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1 1–1 16 Oct '18 12–20 Nov '18 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Cameroon qualify automatically as hosts.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Mali 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Final tournament — 0–0 2–1 18–26 Mar '19
2  Burundi 3 1 2 0 4 1 +3 5 16 Oct '18 — 18–26 Mar '19 3–0
3  Gabon 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4 12–20 Nov '18 1–1 — 3–0
4  South Sudan 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 0 0–3 12–20 Nov '18 16 Oct '18 —
Updated to match(es) played on 12 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Algeria 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Final tournament — 2–0 18–26 Mar '19 1–0
2  Benin 3 1 1 1 1 2 −1 4 16 Oct '18 — 1–0 18–26 Mar '19
3  Gambia 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2 1–1 12–20 Nov '18 — 16 Oct '18
4  Togo 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2 12–20 Nov '18 0–0 1–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 12 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Africa 3 2 1 0 8 0 +8 7 Final tournament — 12–20 Nov '18 0–0 6–0
2  Nigeria 3 2 0 1 7 2 +5 6 0–2 — 4–0 18–26 Mar '19
3  Libya 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 18–26 Mar '19 16 Oct '18 — 5–1
4  Seychelles 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13 0 16 Oct '18 0–3 12–20 Nov '18 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Kenya 4 2 1 1 5 2 +3 7 Final tournament — 3–0 1–0 12–20 Nov '18
2  Ethiopia 4 1 1 2 1 8 −7 4 0–0 — 12–20 Nov '18 1–0
3  Ghana 2 1 0 1 5 1 +4 3 18–26 Mar '19 5–0 — Date TBC
4  Sierra Leone 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 2–1 18–26 Mar '19 Date TBC —
Updated to match(es) played on 14 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Zimbabwe 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7 Final tournament — 16 Oct '18 18–26 Mar '19 3–0
2  DR Congo 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 4 1–2 — 3–1 18–26 Mar '19
3  Congo 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 1–1 12–20 Nov '18 — 3–1
4  Liberia 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1 12–20 Nov '18 1–1 16 Oct '18 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Guinea 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Final tournament — 12–20 Nov '18 1–0 2–0
2  Ivory Coast 3 2 0 1 8 4 +4 6 2–3 — 4–0 18–26 Mar '19
3  Central African Republic 3 1 0 2 2 6 −4 3 18–26 Mar '19 16 Oct '18 — 2–1
4  Rwanda 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0 16 Oct '18 1–2 12–20 Nov '18 —
Updated to match(es) played on 12 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Angola 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6 Final tournament — 12–20 Nov '18 4–1 1–0
2  Burkina Faso 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6 3–1 — 18–26 Mar '19 3–0
3  Mauritania 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6 16 Oct '18 2–0 — 12–20 Nov '18
4  Botswana 3 0 0 3 0 5 −5 0 18–26 Mar '19 16 Oct '18 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group J

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tunisia 3 3 0 0 4 0 +4 9 Final tournament — 1–0 18–26 Mar '19 1–0
2  Egypt 3 2 0 1 10 2 +8 6 12–20 Nov '18 — 4–1 6–0
3  Swaziland[lower-alpha 1] 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1 0–2 16 Oct '18 — 12–20 Nov '18
4  Niger 3 0 1 2 0 7 −7 1 16 Oct '18 18–26 Mar '19 0–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. ↑ The official name of Swaziland was changed to Eswatini in 2018 after they had played their first qualifying match, and since then both FIFA and CAF have used the name Eswatini for official use.[12][13]

Group K

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Guinea-Bissau 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7 Final tournament — 1–0 18–26 Mar '19 2–1
2  Namibia 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 12–20 Nov '18 — 16 Oct '18 1–1
3  Mozambique 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4 2–2 1–2 — 12–20 Nov '18
4  Zambia 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4 2–1 18–26 Mar '19 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 14 October 2018. Source: CAF

Group L

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uganda 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 7 Final tournament — 12–20 Nov '18 3–0 0–0
2  Cape Verde 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4 0–1 — 18–26 Mar '19 3–0
3  Lesotho 3 0 2 1 2 5 −3 2 16 Oct '18 1–1 — 12–20 Nov '18
4  Tanzania 3 0 2 1 1 4 −3 2 18–26 Mar '19 16 Oct '18 1–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2018. Source: CAF

Qualified teams

  Qualified
  Failed to qualify
  Withdrew, disqualified or did not enter
  Not part of CAF

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in Africa Cup of Nations1
 CameroonHosts20 September 2014[3]18 (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017)
1 Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

Goalscorers

Note: Players in bold are still active in the competition.

4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

References

  1. 1 2 "Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations" (PDF). Confederation of African Football.
  2. ↑ "DECISIONS OF CAF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE – 20 JULY 2017". Confederation of African Football.
  3. 1 2 "CAMEROON TO HOST 2019, COTE D'IVOIRE FOR 2021, GUINEA 2023". Confédération Africaine de Football. 20 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Total Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon: Draw results and fixtures". CAF. 13 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ranking". CAFonline.com. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Withdrawal of Chad from AFCON 2017 Qualifiers". CAFonline.com. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Draw Procedure of the Qualifiers of the 32nd Edition of Total Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2019" (PDF). CAFonline.com. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Qualifiers of the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 / Eliminatoires de la Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2019" (PDF). CAF.
  9. ↑ "New Dates of the Qualifiers of AFCON, Cameroon 2019" (PDF). CAF.
  10. ↑ "Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers moved for World Cup finalists". BBC Sport. 17 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Revised dates for Total AFCON Cameroon 2019 qualifiers". CAF. 22 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Matches - Eswatini". FIFA.com.
  13. ↑ "CAF - 32nd Edition of Total Africa Cup of Nations - Eswatini". CAF.
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