AFCON qualifiers 2023 fixtures, results, groups, teams, and how it works ahead of Ivory Coast 2024

Kyle Bonn

AFCON qualifiers 2023 fixtures, results, groups, teams, and how it works ahead of Ivory Coast 2024 image

There are 48 African countries battling for the 24 berths available to the next Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON) to be held beginning in January 2024 in the Ivory Coast. 

Defending champions Senegal will be facing fierce competition from fellow African powers Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, host nation Ivory Coast, and others as they try to become the first back-to-back AFCON champions since Egypt won three straight in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

To reach the AFCON finals in 2024, nations must progress through qualifying, which can be ruthless in deciding which countries achieve a spot in the tournament. 

The Sporting News brings you all the necessary details about how AFCON qualifying works, when the matches are, and how they play out.

AFCON qualifiers format

To qualify for AFCON, teams must progress through a group stage qualification format.

First, the lowest-ranked teams had to push through a preliminary stage which consisted of 12 teams paired up in six matchups contested over two legs. The losers on aggregate goals were eliminated, while the six winners advanced to join 42 others in the group stage.

The remaining 48 teams were then grouped into 12 groups of four (Groups A-L), with each group playing round-robin matches.

The top two finishers in each group advance to AFCON, while the bottom two in each group are eliminated. This produces the 24 qualifiers who will reach the final tournament.

Ivory Coast have already qualified for AFCON as hosts, but they are still playing in the qualification matches despite their spot being assured. Since Les Elephants are already through, only one qualifier can emerge from Group H. The highest finisher outside of Ivory Coast will earn that group's lone berth.

Teams qualified to AFCON

The following teams have already secured qualification to the African Cup of Nations in January 2024:

  Nation Date
Qualified
Grp Pos Last AFCON
appearance
Best AFCON
finish (year)
1. Ivory Coast (Hosts) H 1st/2nd 2022 Champions
(1992, 2015)
2. Morocco March 24 K 1st/2nd 2022 Champions (1976)
3. Algeria March 27 F 1st 2022 Champions
(1990, 2019)
4. Burkina Faso March 28 B 1st/2nd 2022 2nd (2013)
5. Senegal March 28 L 1st 2022 Champions (2022)
6. South Africa March 28 K 1st/2nd 2019 Champions (1996)
7. Tunisia March 28 J 1st 2022 Champions (2004)
8. Egypt June 14 D 1st 2022 Champions
(1957, 1959, 1986,
1998, 2006, 2008, 2010)
9. Equatorial Guinea June 17 J 2nd 2022 4th (2015)
10. Zambia June 17 H 1st/2nd 2015 Champions (2012)
11. Nigeria June 18 A 1st/2nd 2022 Champions
(1980, 1994, 2013)
12. Guinea Bissau June 18 A 1st/2nd 2022 Group stage
(2017, 2019, 2021)
13. Cape Verde June 18 B 1st/2nd 2022 Quarterfinals (2013)
14. Mali June 18 G 1st/2nd 2022 2nd (1972)
15. Guinea June 20 D 2nd 2022 2nd (1976
16. Ghana Sept. 7 E 1st 2022 Champions
(1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
17. Angola Sept. 7 E 2nd 2019 Quarterfinals
(2008, 2010)
18. Tanzania  Sept. 7 F 2nd 2019 Group stage
(1980, 2019)
19. DR Congo Sept. 9 I 1st 2019 Champions (1968, 1974)
20. Mauritania Sept. 9 I 2nd 2022 Group stage (2019, 2022)
21. Mozambique Sept. 9 L 2nd 2010 Group stage
(1986, 1996, 1998, 2010) 
22. Gambia Sept. 10 G 2nd 2022 Quarterfinals (2022)
23. Group C Sept. 12 C 1st  
24. Group C Sept. 12 C 2nd  

Africa Cup of Nations 2023 qualifier fixtures, results

Qualifying Groups

The 48 nations left standing were split up into 12 groups of four at the draw on April 19, 2022. To ensure competitively balanced groups, teams were drawn from four separate pots broken down by FIFA rankings. Each group consists of one team selected from each pot.

Kenya (Pot 2) and Zimbabwe (Pot 3) were under FIFA suspension at the time of the draw, but since their suspension was not subsequently lifted, both countries were eliminated from the competition. Their groups (Group C and Group K) will still progress two qualifiers to the finals, meaning only one participant in each group will be eliminated.

Group A table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Nigeria (Q) 15 5-0-1 +18
2. Guinea-Bissau (Q) 10 3-1-1 +5
3. Sierra Leone 5 1-2-2 0
4. Sao Tome & Principe 1 0-1-5 -23

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group A fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
June 9, 2022 Guinea-Bissau 5-1 Sao Tome & Principe HIGHLIGHTS
June 9, 2022 Nigeria 2-1 Sierra Leone HIGHLIGHTS
June 13, 2022 Sao Tome & Principe 0-10 Nigeria HIGHLIGHTS
June 13, 2022 Sierra Leone 2-2 Guinea-Bissau RECAP
March 22, 2023 Sierra Leone 2-2 Sao Tome & Principe HIGHLIGHTS
March 24, 2023 Nigeria 0-1 Guinea-Bissau HIGHLIGHTS
March 26, 2023 Sao Tome & Principe 0-2 Sierra Leone HIGHLIGHTS
March 27, 2023 Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria HIGHLIGHTS
June 14 2023 Sao Tome & Principe 0-1 Guinea-Bissau HIGHLIGHTS
June 18, 2023 Sierra Leone 2-3 Nigeria HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 10, 2023 Nigeria 6-0. Sao Tome & Principe HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 11, 2023 Guinea-Bissau vs. Sierra Leone TBD

Group B table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Burkina Faso (Q) 11 3-2-1 +3
2. Cape Verde (Q) 10 3-1-2 +2
3. Togo 8 2-2-2 0
4. Eswatini 3 0-3-3 -5

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group B fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 3, 2022 Togo 2-2 Eswatini HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 3, 2022 Burkina Faso 2-0 Cape Verde HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 7, 2022 Eswatini 1-3 Burkina Faso HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 7, 2022 Cape Verde 2-0 Togo HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Cape Verde 0-0 Eswatini HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Burkina Faso 1-0 Togo HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Eswatini 0-1 Cape Verde HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Togo 1-1 Burkina Faso HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Cape Verde 3-1 Burkina Faso HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Eswatini 0-2 Togo HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 8, 2023 Burkina Faso 0-0 Eswatini
Sep. 10, 2023 Togo 3-2 Cape Verde

Group C table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Namibia 5 1-2-0 +1
2. Cameroon 4 1-1-1 0
3. Burundi 4 1-1-1 0
4. Kenya

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group C fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 4, 2022 Namibia 1-1 Burundi HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 9, 2022 Burundi 0-1 Cameroon HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Cameroon 1-1 Namibia HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Namibia 2-1 Cameroon HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 20, 2023 Burundi 3-2 Namibia HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 12, 2023 Cameroon vs. Burundi 17:00

Group D table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Egypt (Q) 15 5-0-1 +7
2. Guinea (Q) 10 3-1-2 +2
3. Malawi 5 1-2-3 -6
4. Ethiopia 4 1-1-4 -3

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group D fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
June 5, 2022 Malawi 2-1 Ethiopia HIGHLIGHTS
June 5, 2022 Egypt 1-0 Guinea HIGHLIGHTS
June 9, 2022 Guinea 1-0 Malawi HIGHLIGHTS
June 9, 2022 Ethiopia 2-0 Egypt HIGHLIGHTS
March 24, 2023 Egypt 2-0 Malawi HIGHLIGHTS
March 24, 2023 Guinea 2-0 Ethiopia HIGHLIGHTS
March 27, 2023 Ethiopia 1-3 Guinea HIGHLIGHTS
March 28, 2023 Malawi 0-4 Egypt HIGHLIGHTS
June 14 2023 Guinea 1-2 Egypt HIGHLIGHTS
June 20, 2023 Ethiopia 0-0 Malawi HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 8, 2023 Egypt 1-0 Ethiopia
Sep. 9, 2023 Malawi 2-2 Guinea

Group E table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Ghana (Q) 12 3-3-0 +5
2. Angola (Q) 9 2-3-1 +1
3. Central African Rep. 7 2-1-3 +2
4. Madagascar 3 0-3-3 -8

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group E fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 1, 2022 Angola 2-1 Central African Rep. HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 1, 2022 Ghana 3-0 Madagascar HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 5, 2022 Central African Rep. 1-1 Ghana HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 5, 2022 Madagascar 1-1 Angola HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 23, 2023 Madagascar 0-3 Central African Rep. RECAP
Mar. 23, 2023 Ghana 1-0 Angola HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 27, 2023 Central African Rep. 2-0 Madagascar RECAP
Mar. 27, 2023 Angola 1-1 Ghana HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 17, 2023 Central African Rep. 1-2 Angola HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Madagascar 0-0 Ghana HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 7, 2023 Ghana 2-1 Central African Rep. HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 7, 2023 Angola 0-0 Madagascar RECAP

Group F table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Algeria (Q) 16 5-1-0 +7
2. Tanzania (Q) 8 2-2-2 -1
3. Uganda 7 2-1-3 -2
4. Niger 2 0-2-4 -5

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group F fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 4, 2022 Niger 1-1 Tanzania HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 4, 2022 Algeria 2-0 Uganda HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 8, 2022 Uganda 1-1 Niger HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 8, 2022 Tanzania 0-2 Algeria HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 23, 2023 Algeria 2-1 Niger HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Uganda 0-1 Tanzania HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 27, 2023 Niger 0-1 Algeria HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Tanzania 0-1 Uganda HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Tanzania 1-0 Niger HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Uganda 1-2 Algeria HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 7, 2023 Algeria 0-0 Tanzania HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 7, 2023 Niger 0-2 Uganda RECAP

Group G table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Mali (Q) 15 5-0-1 +13
2. Gambia (Q) 10 3-1-2 0
3. Congo 7 2-1-3 -5
4. South Sudan 3 1-0-5 -8

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group G fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 4, 2022 Gambia 1-0 South Sudan HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 4, 2022 Mali 4-0 Congo HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 8, 2022 Congo 1-0 Gambia HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 9, 2022 South Sudan 1-3 Mali HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 23, 2023 Congo 1-2 South Sudan HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Mali 2-0 Gambia HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 27, 2023 South Sudan 0-1 Congo HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Gambia 1-0 Mali HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 14, 2023 South Sudan 2-3 Gambia HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Congo 0-2 Mali HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 8, 2023 Mali 4-0 South Sudan
Sep. 10, 2023 Gambia 2-2 Congo 17:00

Group H table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Zambia (Q) 13 4-1-1 +6
2. Ivory Coast (Q) 13 4-1-1 +4
3. Comoros 7 2-1-3 -2
4. Lesotho 1 0-1-5 -8

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group H fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 3, 2022 Comoros 2-0 Lesotho HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 3, 2022 Ivory Coast 3-1 Zambia HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 7, 2022 Zambia 2-1 Comoros HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 9, 2022 Lesotho 0-0 Ivory Coast HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 23, 2023 Zambia 3-1 Lesotho HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Ivory Coast 3-1 Comoros HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 26, 2023 Lesotho 0-2 Zambia HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Comoros 0-2 Ivory Coast HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 17, 2023 Zambia 3-0 Ivory Coast HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 17, 2023 Lesotho 0-1 Comoros HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 9, 2023 Ivory Coast 1-0 Lesotho
Sep. 9, 2023 Comoros 1-1 Zambia

Group I table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. DR Congo 12 4-0-2 +8
2. Mauritania 10 3-1-2 +1
3. Gabon 7 2-1-3 -2
4. Sudan 6 2-0-4 -7

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group I fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 4, 2022 Mauritania 3-0 Sudan HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 4, 2022 DR Congo 0-1 Gabon HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 8, 2022 Gabon 0-0 Mauritania HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 8, 2022 Sudan 2-1 DR Congo HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 23, 2023 Gabon 1-0 Sudan HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 DR Congo 3-1 Mauritania HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 27, 2023 Sudan 1-0 Gabon HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Mauritania 1-1 DR Congo HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Gabon 0-2 DR Congo HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 20, 2023 Sudan 0-3 Mauritania HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 9, 2023 DR Congo 2-0 Sudan
Sep. 9, 2023 Mauritania 2-1 Gabon

Group J table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Tunisia (Q) 13 4-1-1 +10
2. Equatorial Guinea (Q) 13 4-1-1 +2
3. Botswana 4 1-1-4 -6
4. Libya 3 1-1-4 -6

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group J fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 1, 2022 Libya 1-0 Botswana HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 2, 2022 Tunisia 4-0 Equatorial Guinea HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 5, 2022 Botswana 0-0 Tunisia HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 6, 2022 Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Libya HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Botswana HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Tunisia 3-0 Libya HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Botswana 2-3 Equatorial Guinea HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Libya 0-1 Tunisia HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 17, 2023 Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Tunisia HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 17, 2023 Botswana 1-0 Libya HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 7, 2023 Tunisia 3-0 Botswana RECAP
Sep. 6, 2023 Libya 1-1 Equatorial Guinea HIGHLIGHTS

Group K table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. South Africa (Q) 7 2-1-1 +1
2. Morocco (Q) 6 2-0-1 +2
3. Liberia 1 0-1-2 -3
4. Zimbabwe

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group K fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 9, 2022 Morocco 2-1 South Africa HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 13, 2022 Liberia 0-2 Morocco HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 South Africa 2-2 Liberia HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Liberia 1-2 South Africa HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 17, 2023 South Africa 2-1 Morocco HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 9, 2023 Morocco vs. Liberia POSTPONED

Group L table, standings

Pos Team Pts W-D-L GD
1. Senegal (Q) 14 4-2-0 +8
2. Mozambique 10 3-1-2 -1
3. Benin 5 1-2-3 -1
4. Rwanda 3 0-3-3 -6

Q = Qualified to AFCON in January 2024

Group L fixtures, results

Date Match Time (UTC +1)
Jun. 2, 2022 Mozambique 1-1 Rwanda HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 4, 2022 Senegal 3-1 Benin HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 7, 2022 Rwanda 0-1 Senegal HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 8, 2022 Benin 0-1 Mozambique HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 22, 2023 Benin 1-1 Rwanda HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 24, 2023 Senegal 5-1 Mozambique HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 28, 2023 Mozambique 0-1 Senegal HIGHLIGHTS
Mar. 29, 2023 Rwanda 0-3 Benin *FORFEIT*
Jun. 17, 2023 Benin 1-1 Senegal HIGHLIGHTS
Jun. 18, 2023 Rwanda 0-2 Mozambique HIGHLIGHTS
Sep. 9, 2023 Senegal 1-1 Rwanda
Sep. 9, 2023 Mozambique 3-2 Benin

Preliminary round

The higher-ranked teams among the preliminary round participants were seeded in the draw, and played the second leg of this preliminary round at home. The games were contested in late March of 2022.

In March of 2022, Eritrea announced it would withdraw from AFCON 2023 qualification. No reason for the decision was announced. The nation has not contested a senior international fixture since a friendly against Sudan in 2020, while their last competitive fixture was in 2019 against Namibia in 2022 World Cup qualifying.

There was controversy around the matchup between Sao Tome & Principe and Mauritius. Sao Tome & Principe won the first leg 1-0, but goalscorer Luis Leal was accused of breaching COVID-19 regulations, which saw their opponents awarded a 3-0 result via forfeit. However, an appeal saw the decision overturned, and that proved decisive as Sao Tome & Principe would advance on an aggregate score of 4-3 after a second leg draw. They were the only unseeded team to advance through the preliminary round.

In the table below, the team to advance is in bold.

Unseeded Agg. Goals Seeded 1st leg 2nd leg
Eritrea cancelled Botswana
Sao Tome &
Principe
4-3 Mauritius 1-0 3-3
Djibouti 2-5 South Sudan 2-4 1-0
Seychelles 1-3 Lesotho 0-0 3-1
Somalia 1-5 Eswatini 0-3 2-1
Chad 2-3 Gambia 0-1 2-2

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.