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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