2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 April – 2 August 2015 |
| Teams | 26 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 34 |
| Goals scored | 69 (2.03 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
 Kahraba Adama Niane(4 goals each) |
The 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-23 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations. Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament.[1]
A total of eight teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Senegal who qualified automatically as hosts.[2]
The top three teams of the final tournament will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil.[3]
Teams
A total of 26 CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds.[4]
| Round | Teams entering round | No. of teams |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 10 | |
| Second round | 9 | |
| Third round | 7 | |
| Qualifying rounds | Total | 26 |
| Final tournament |
|
1 |
| Did not enter |
|---|
|
- Notes
- The final tournament was originally to be hosted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After Senegal replaced them as hosts,[2] the CAF released an updated version of the draw. In the initial draw, Zimbabwe and Swaziland were to play each other in the first round, where the winner would play South Africa in the second round, where the winner would play Senegal in the third round. In the updated draw, Zimbabwe and Swaziland play each other in the second round, where the winner play South Africa in the third round.[4]
- Namibia's U23 team manager Jakes Amaning said the Namibia Football Association did apply to take part in the tournament, but due to unforeseen circumstances its name did not appear in the CAF draw. The Confederation of African Football have said the Namibian application may not have been received due to a "technical error".[5] Although the draw took place on 20 September 2014, FIFA have set a deadline of 25 October for applicants.[6]
Format
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).[1]
The seven winners of the third round qualified for the final tournament.
Schedule
The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.[7][4]
| Round | Leg | Date |
|---|---|---|
| First round | First leg | 24–26 April 2015 |
| Second leg | 8–10 May 2015 | |
| Second round | First leg | 22–24 May 2015 |
| Second leg | 29–31 May 2015 | |
| Third round | First leg | 17–19 July 2015 |
| Second leg | 31 July–2 August 2015 |
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ghana  |
7–1 |  Liberia |
2–0 | 5–1 |
Guinea-Bissau  |
w/o |  Sierra Leone |
— | — |
Libya  |
w/o |  Mauritania |
— | — |
Botswana  |
4–4 (a) |  Kenya |
3–0 | 1–4 |
Rwanda  |
3–1 |  Somalia |
2–0 | 1–1 |
Note: Guinea-Bissau and Libya withdrew.[8] Liberia played their home match in Ghana due to Ebola outbreak. Somalia played their home match in Djibouti (originally in Kenya) due to security concerns.[9]
Ghana won 7–1 on aggregate.
Sierra Leone won on walkover.
Mauritania won on walkover.
4–4 on aggregate. Botswana won on away goals.
Rwanda won 3–1 on aggregate.
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana |
1–1 (4–5 p) |  Congo |
1–0 | 0–1 |
| Sierra Leone |
1–1 (a) |  Cameroon |
0–0 | 1–1 |
| Mauritania |
2–4 | Mali |
1–1 | 1–3 |
| Botswana |
1–3 |  Zambia |
1–1 | 0–2 |
| Rwanda |
1–4 |  Uganda |
1–2 | 0–2 |
Zimbabwe  |
2–2 (a) |  Swaziland |
0–0 | 2–2 |
Tunisia  |
3–0 |  Sudan |
1–0 | 2–0 |
Note: Sierra Leone played their home match in Cameroon due to Ebola outbreak.
1–1 on aggregate. Congo won on penalties.
1–1 on aggregate. Sierra Leone won on away goals.
Mali won 4–2 on aggregate.
Zambia won 3–1 on aggregate.
Uganda won 4–1 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Zimbabwe won on away goals.
Tunisia won 3–0 on aggregate.
Third round
Winners qualified for 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nigeria  |
2–1 | Congo |
2–1 | 0–0 |
Algeria  |
2–0 | Sierra Leone |
2–0 | 0–0 |
Gabon  |
0–3 | Mali |
0–1 | 0–2 |
Ivory Coast  |
0–0 (3–4 p) | Zambia |
0–0 | 0–0 |
| Egypt |
6–1 | Uganda |
4–0 | 2–1 |
| Zimbabwe |
1–4 |  South Africa |
1–1 | 0–3 |
Morocco  |
1–2 | Tunisia |
1–0 | 0–2 |
Note: Sierra Leone played their home match in Algeria due to Ebola outbreak (match also brought forward by a week).
Nigeria won 2–1 on aggregate.
Algeria won 2–0 on aggregate.
Mali won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Zambia |
0–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Chirwa  Kampamba  Chepeshi B. Sakala Zulu S. Sakala Daka |
4–3 | Kessié Assalé Diarra Coulibaly Maiga Ahoulou N'Guessan |
0–0 on aggregate. Zambia won on penalties.
Egypt won 6–1 on aggregate.
South Africa won 4–1 on aggregate.
Tunisia won 2–1 on aggregate.
Qualified teams
The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament1 |
|---|---|---|
 Senegal (hosts) | 14 March 2015[2] | 1 (2011) |
| Nigeria | 2 August 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| Algeria | 25 July 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| Mali | 2 August 2015 | 0 (debut) |
| Zambia | 1 August 2015 | 0 (debut) |
| Egypt | 1 August 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| South Africa | 1 August 2015 | 1 (2011) |
| Tunisia | 1 August 2015 | 0 (debut) |
- 1 Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
Goalscorers
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- Omaatla Kebatho
- Dauda Mohammed
- Michael Olunga
- Keagan Dolly
- Farouk Miya
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Onkabetse Makgantai
- Unobatsha Mbaiwa
- Joseph Minala
- Silvère Ganvoula M'boussy
- Moise Nkounkou
- Mohamed Salem
- Ramadan Sobhi
- Kennedy Ashia
- Ebo Andoh
- Richard Gadze
- Baba Mensah
- Tamimu Montari
- John Ndirangu
- Van Dave Harmond
- Moctar Mohamed Cissé
- Adama Traoré
- Boubacar Bagili
- Mamadou Niass
- Achraf Bencharki
- Songa Isaie
- Yannick Muzunki
- Kevin Muhire
- Dominique Savio Nshuti
- Sorie Barrie
- Abbas Mohammed
- Gift Motupa
- Muzi Dlamini
- Mxolisi Mkhontfo
- Ghailene Chaalali
- Haythem Jouini
- Slimane Kchok
- Yassine Meriah
- Edem Rjaïbi
- Muzamiru Mutyaba
- John Ssemazi
- Jackson Chirwa
- Ronald Kampamba
- Kelvin Mubanga
- Philana Kadewere
- Walter Musona
- Ronald Pfumbidzai
- Own goal
- Karl Mboudou (playing against Mali)
References
- 1 2 "Regulations U23 AFCON English" (PDF). CAF.
- 1 2 3 "Macky Sall accepts to host U-23 Championship in December". CAF. 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016 – Football" (pdf). Rio 2016 Official Website. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Fixtures of the Qualifiers of U-23 African Championship" (PDF). CAF. 15 April 2015.
- ↑ "Namibian U23 Side Not Drawn for Olympics Qualifiers". Windhoek: Namibian U23 Side Not Drawn for Olympics Qualifiers – via AllAfrica (subscription required) . 27 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ "Zimbabwe: Pasuwa Welcomes CAF Under-23 Draw". NewZimbabwe – via AllAfrica.com (subscription required) . 24 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ "CAF Full Calendar". CAFonline.com. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ↑ "African journey to Rio de Janeiro takes-off". CAF. 22 April 2015.
- ↑ "Djibouti to host Somalia, Rwanda tie". SuperSport. 6 May 2015.
External links
- Africa U-23 Cup Of Nations,Senegal 2015 Qualifiers, CAFonline.com