The DRC with Gabon: the complete draw for the CAN 2023 qualifiers

The Africa Cup of Nations trophy.

© AFP/Archive

Text by: Tom Rossi Follow

2 mins

The draw for the second round of qualifying for the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire took place this Tuesday, April 19, in South Africa.

The 48 African selections involved were divided into 12 groups of four.

Half of them will get their ticket for the CAN (June 23-July 23, 2023).

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With the exception of six countries eliminated in the first round

, almost all of African football was concerned by this draw for the group stage of the

CAN 2023 qualifiers

, in Côte d'Ivoire.

In the studios of the SuperSport channel in Johannesburg, the Ivorian Salomon Kalou and the South African Lucas Radebe placed the 48 selections in 12 groups of four: 

Group A:

Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe or Mauritius*

Group B:

Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Togo, Eswatini

Group C:

Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Burundi

Group D:

Egypt, Guinea, Malawi, Ethiopia

Group E:

Ghana, Madagascar, Angola, Central African Republic

Group F:

Algeria, Uganda, Niger, Tanzania

Group G:

Mali, Congo, Gambia, South Sudan

Group H:

Ivory Coast, Zambia, Comoros, Lesotho

Group I:

DR Congo, Gabon, Mauritania, Sudan

Group J:

Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Botswana

Group K:

Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Liberia

Group L:

Senegal, Benin, Mozambique, Rwanda

Beforehand, the 48 teams entered were divided into four pots according to the latest FIFA ranking established on March 31.

Thus, it is impossible to have the best African selections such as Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon or DR Congo in the same group. 

Doubts over the participation of Kenya and Zimbabwe

Note that Côte d'Ivoire, placed in the pool, is automatically qualified as host country.

Thus, … will compete for the only ticket available in this group.

Another particularity of this draw: the special cases of Kenya and Zimbabwe, suspended by FIFA on February 24 for political interference.

If their suspension is not lifted two weeks before the first day of the playoffs in June, they " 

will be considered losers and eliminated from the competition

 ".

If so, their groups will be made up of three teams, with two tickets to Côte d'Ivoire still up for grabs.

*

Sao Tome and Principe had eliminated Mauritius

in the first round of playoffs (1-0, 3-3), but a " 

disciplinary procedure

 " is underway.

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