2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches determined the participating teams for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates12 April – 19 November 2014
Teams51 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played125
Goals scored268 (2.14 per match)
Top scorer(s) Jonathan Pitroipa
(6 goals)

A total of 16 teams competed in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[1]

Prior to November 2014, it was expected that Morocco would be the host country (and thus be pre-qualified). However, as Morocco missed the 9 November deadline for confirming their willingness to host (because of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa), Morocco was expelled from the tournament.[2] Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host, and despite having played in the qualifiers and been disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player, they now qualify for the tournament automatically.[3]

Qualified teams

  Qualified
  Failed to qualify
  Withdrew, disqualified or did not enter
  Not part of CAF
Team Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA ranking
at start of event
 Equatorial Guinea00Hosts14 November 20142nd2012Quarter-finals (2012)
 Cape VerdeGroup F winners15 October 20142nd2013Quarter-finals (2013)
 AlgeriaGroup B winners15 October 201415th2013Winners (1990)
 TunisiaGroup G winners14 November 201417th2013Winners (2004)
 South AfricaGroup A winners15 November 20149th2013Winners (1996)
 ZambiaGroup F runners-up15 November 201417th2013Winners (2012)
 CameroonGroup D winners15 November 201417th2010Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002)
 GabonGroup C winners15 November 20145th2012Quarter-finals (1996, 2012)
 Burkina FasoGroup C runners-up15 November 20149th2013Runners-up (2013)
 SenegalGroup G runners-up15 November 201413th2012Runners-up (2002)
 Ivory CoastGroup D runners-up19 November 201420th2013Winners (1992)
 GhanaGroup E winners19 November 201419th2013Winners (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
 GuineaGroup E runners-up19 November 201411th2012Runners-up (1976)
 MaliGroup B runners-up19 November 20148th2013Runners-up (1972)
 CongoGroup A runners-up19 November 20147th2000Winners (1972)
 DR CongoBest 3rd place19 November 201417th2013Winners (1968, 1974)

Format

The qualifying draw was supposed to take place in Morocco on 10 March 2013 during CAF General Assembly.[4] However, the CAF Executive Committee decided on 8 March 2013 that the qualifying draw would be held on 31 January 2014 in South Africa in line with the 2014 African Nations Championship.[5] However, on 28 January 2014, the draw date was reported to have changed once again. The qualifying draw was held on 27 April 2014 in Cairo, Egypt (with the exception of the preliminary round which was held on 21 February 2014 in Cairo).[6]

A total of 51 teams entered the qualification matches (Djibouti and Somalia did not enter).[7][8] After the CAF Executive Committee meeting on 24 January 2014, it was decided that the qualifiers shall be played in the format of several qualifying rounds, as well as a group stage with seven groups consisting of four teams each. The two top teams of each group then directly qualify for the finals, along with the best third place team of the seven groups.[9] This was different from the original proposal, which consisted of a preliminary round followed by a group stage with twelve groups of four teams.[10]

The top 21 teams listed in the CAF Ranking shall automatically qualify for the group stage. The seven other teams playing in the group stage shall be determined following the conclusion of the qualifying rounds. The ranking is computed using the teams' results in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 3) and qualifiers, the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 2) and qualifiers (weighted by 0.5), the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. If tied on points, the tiebreaker is decided by the results of the latest editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Below are the ranking of the 51 teams that entered the qualification matches:[9][11][12]

Bye to group stage Competing in qualifying rounds
Entering in first round Entering in preliminary round
  1.  Nigeria (39.5 pts)
  2.  Ghana (38 pts)
  3.  Ivory Coast (36 pts)
  4.  Zambia (33 pts)
  5.  Burkina Faso (32 pts)
  6.  Mali (30 pts)
  7.  Tunisia (22.5 pts)
  8.  Algeria (18 pts)
  9.  Angola (17 pts)
  10.  Cape Verde (16.5 pts)
  11.  Togo (14.5 pts)
  12.  Egypt (14.5 pts)
  13.  South Africa (13.5 pts)
  14.  Cameroon (13.5 pts)
  15.  DR Congo (12 pts)
  16.  Ethiopia (12 pts)
  17.  Gabon (12 pts)
  18.  Niger (11 pts)
  19.  Guinea (11 pts)
  20.  Senegal (11 pts)
  21.  Sudan (10.5 pts)
  1.  Libya (10.5 pts)
  2.  Equatorial Guinea (9 pts)
  3.  Botswana (8 pts)
  4.  Malawi (7 pts)
  5.  Uganda (6.5 pts)
  6.  Mozambique (6 pts)
  7.  Benin (5.5 pts)
  8.  Sierra Leone (5 pts)
  9.  Congo (5 pts)
  10.  Central African Republic (4.5 pts)
  11.  Zimbabwe (4 pts)
  12.  Kenya (4 pts)
  13.  Liberia (3.5 pts)
  14.  Gambia (3.5 pts)
  15.  Rwanda (3.5 pts)
  16.  Tanzania (3.5 pts)
  17.  Namibia (3 pts)
  18.  Burundi (2 pts)
  19.  Lesotho (2 pts)
  20.  Guinea-Bissau (1.5 pts)
  21.  Madagascar (1.5 pts)
  22.  Chad (1 pt)
  23.  São Tomé and Príncipe (1 pt)
  24.  Seychelles (1 pts)
  25.  Comoros (0.5 pts)
  26.  Swaziland (0.5 pts)
  1.  Mauritius (0.5 pts)
  2.  Eritrea (0 pts)
  3.  Mauritania (0 pts)
  4.  South Sudan (0 pts)

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[11][13]

Round Matchday Date
Qualifying rounds Preliminary round 1st leg 11–13 April 2014
Preliminary round 2nd leg 18–20 April 2014
First round 1st leg 16–18 May 2014
First round 2nd leg 30 May–1 June 2014
Second round 1st leg 18–20 July 2014
Second round 2nd leg 1–3 August 2014
Group stage Matchday 1 5–6 September 2014
Matchday 2 10 September 2014
Matchday 3 10–11 October 2014
Matchday 4 15 October 2014
Matchday 5 14–15 November 2014
Matchday 6 19 November 2014

Qualifying rounds

In each of the qualifying rounds, teams were drawn into knock-out ties. Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the sides were level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still level, the tie proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played).[1]

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round was held at the CAF Executive Committee on 21 February 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[11] The four teams ranked 48–51 played in this round.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Mauritania  3–0  Mauritius 1–0 2–0
Eritrea  w/o  South Sudan
Mauritania 1–0 Mauritius
Ba  23' Report
Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (Senegal)
Mauritius 0–2 Mauritania
Report Sow  38'
Bessam  90'
Referee: Samuel Chirindza (Mozambique)

Mauritania won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.


Eritrea Cancelled South Sudan
Report
Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)
South Sudan Cancelled Eritrea
Report
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (Burundi)

South Sudan advanced to the first round after Eritrea, who have a history of their players defecting whilst on international duty, withdrew.[14][15]

First round

The draw for the first round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[16][17] The 26 teams ranked 22–47 and the two winners of the preliminary round played in this round. Teams ranked 22–35 were seeded, and teams ranked 36–47 and the two winners of the preliminary round were unseeded.[18]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Liberia  1–2  Lesotho 1–0 0–2
Kenya  2–1  Comoros 1–0 1–1
Madagascar  2–2 (a)  Uganda 2–1 0–1
Mauritania  awd.  Equatorial Guinea 1–0 0–3
Namibia  1–3  Congo 1–0 0–3
Libya  0–3  Rwanda 0–0 0–3
Burundi  0–1  Botswana 0–0 0–1
Central African Republic  1–3  Guinea-Bissau 0–0 1–3
Swaziland  1–2  Sierra Leone 1–1 0–1
Gambia  awd.  Seychelles
São Tomé and Príncipe  0–4  Benin 0–2 0–2
Malawi  3–3 (a)  Chad 2–0 1–3
Tanzania  3–2  Zimbabwe 1–0 2–2
Mozambique  5–0  South Sudan 5–0 0–0
Liberia 1–0 Lesotho
Laffor  40' Report
Referee: Gustave Tohouegnon (Benin)
Lesotho 2–0 Liberia
Potloane  2'
Jetoh  5' (o.g.)
Report
Referee: Joshua Amao (Nigeria)

Lesotho won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Kenya 1–0 Comoros
Omolo  34' Report
Referee: Wellington Kaoma (Zambia)
Comoros 1–1 Kenya
Saandi  78' Report Masika  56'

Kenya won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Uganda 1–0 Madagascar
Massa  12' Report
Referee: Mohamed Farouk Mahmoud (Egypt)

2–2 on aggregate. Uganda won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.


Mauritania 1–0 Equatorial Guinea
Diakité  76' Report
Referee: Mutaz Khairalla (Sudan)
Equatorial Guinea 3–0 Mauritania
Mina  2'
Rivas  71'
Dio  74'
Report
Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)

Equatorial Guinea won 3–1 on aggregate. However, on 3 July 2014, the CAF announced that Equatorial Guinea were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Thierry Fidjeu in the tie, and as a result, Mauritania advanced to the second round.[19] Equatorial Guinea later qualified for the final tournament as replacement hosts.


Namibia 1–0 Congo
Bester  87' Report
Referee: Hagi Wiish (Somalia)
Congo 3–0 Namibia
Ganvoula  43'
Doré  46'
Douniama  66'
Report

Congo won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Libya 0–0 Rwanda
Report
Rwanda 3–0 Libya
Birori  38', 62', 72' Report

Rwanda won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Botswana won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Central African Republic 0–0 Guinea-Bissau
Report
Referee: Antonio Muachihuissa Caxala (Angola)
Guinea-Bissau 3–1 Central African Republic
Cícero  2', 39'
Kassaï  15' (o.g.)
Report Kéthévoama  46'
Referee: Denis Dembélé (Ivory Coast)

Guinea-Bissau won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Swaziland 1–1 Sierra Leone
Shongwe  56' Report Sesay-Fullah  2'
Referee: Sebit Rassas Librato (South Sudan)
Sierra Leone 1–0 Swaziland
U. Bangura  66' (pen.) Report
Referee: Mohamed Ragab Omar (Libya)

Sierra Leone won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Gambia Cancelled Seychelles
Report
Seychelles Cancelled Gambia
Report

Seychelles advanced to the second round after Gambia were suspended from all CAF competitions for two years for deliberately fielding overage players in the 2015 African U-20 Championship qualification match against Liberia.[20]


São Tomé and Príncipe 0–2 Benin
Report Sessègnon  82', 90' (pen.)
Benin 2–0 São Tomé and Príncipe
Gounongbé  27'
Sessègnon  73'
Report
Referee: Sékou Ahmed Touré (Guinea)

Benin won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Malawi 2–0 Chad
Mhango  6', 74' Report
Referee: Rainhold Shikongo (Namibia)

3–3 on aggregate. Malawi won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.


Tanzania won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


Mozambique 5–0 South Sudan
Josemar  12'
Mexer  42'
Sonito  45', 53'
Isac  82'
Report
Referee: Denis Batte (Uganda)
South Sudan 0–0 Mozambique
Report
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (Burundi)

Mozambique won 5–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Second round

The draw for the second round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[21] The 14 winners of the first round played in this round.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Lesotho  1–0  Kenya 1–0 0–0
Uganda  3–0  Mauritania 2–0 1–0
Congo  awd.  Rwanda 2–0 0–2
Botswana  3–1  Guinea-Bissau 2–0 1–1
Sierra Leone  w/o  Seychelles 2–0
Benin  1–1 (3–4 p)  Malawi 1–0 0–1
Tanzania  3–4  Mozambique 2–2 1–2
Lesotho 1–0 Kenya
Moletsane  66' Report
Referee: Samuel Chirindza (Mozambique)
Kenya 0–0 Lesotho
Report
Referee: Aurélien Juenkou (Cameroon)

Lesotho won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to Group C.


Uganda 2–0 Mauritania
Majwega  48'
Massa  69'
Report
Referee: Hudu Munyemana (Rwanda)

Uganda won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to Group E.


Congo 2–0 Rwanda
Gandzé  66'
Doré  78'
Report
Rwanda 2–0 Congo
Ndahinduka  51'
Kagere  58'
Report
Penalties
Tubane
Mbaraga
Kagere
Bayisenge
Niyonzima
Sibomana
4–3 Doré
N'Dinga
Ganvoula
Bifouma
Lépicier
Lakolo
Referee: Ali Adelaïd (Comoros)

2–2 on aggregate. Rwanda won the penalty shoot-out. However, on 17 August 2014, the CAF announced that Rwanda were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Daddy Birori in the tie, as it emerged that Birori had been using a different name and a Congolese passport when playing for his club side, AS Vita.[22] As a result, Congo advanced to Group A.[23]


Guinea-Bissau 1–1 Botswana
Seidi  17' Report Ramatlhakwane  80'
Referee: Kokou Fagla (Togo)

Botswana won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to Group G.


Sierra Leone 2–0 Seychelles
Jabbie  55'
U. Bangura  72' (pen.)
Report
Referee: Bienvenu Sinko (Ivory Coast)
Seychelles Cancelled Sierra Leone
Report
Referee: Hagi Wiish (Somalia)

Sierra Leone advanced to Group D after Seychelles withdrew.[24] Seychelles were forced to forfeit after the Sierra Leone team was barred by the Seychelles immigration authorities from entering the country to play the second leg for fears over the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak.[25]


Benin 1–0 Malawi
Sessègnon  19' Report
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)
Malawi 1–0 Benin
Banda  13' Report
Penalties
Kamwendo
Msowoya
Mzava
Malata
4–3 Sessègnon
Mama
Angan
Barazé
Adénon

1–1 on aggregate. Malawi won the penalty shoot-out and advanced to Group B.


Tanzania 2–2 Mozambique
Mcha  66', 72' (pen.) Report Domingues  48' (pen.)
Isac  88'
Mozambique 2–1 Tanzania
Josemar  45+1'
Domingues  81'
Report Samatta  75'
Referee: Denis Batte (Uganda)

Mozambique won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to Group F.

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[26][27] The 21 teams ranked 1–21 and the seven winners of the second round played in this round. Teams ranked 1–7 were seeded into Pot 1, teams ranked 8–14 were seeded into Pot 2, teams ranked 15–21 were seeded into Pot 3, and the seven winners of the second round were seeded into Pot 4. The 28 teams were drawn into seven groups of four, with each group containing one team from each pot. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group, plus the best third-placed team, qualified for the finals.

Tiebreakers

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

  1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
  3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  4. Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still had an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 were reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 applied;
  6. Goal difference in all games;
  7. Goals scored in all games;
  8. Away goals scored in all games;
  9. Drawing of lots.
Legend
Group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed team qualified for the finals

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  RSA  CGO  NGA  SDN
 South Africa 6 3 3 0 9 3 +6 12 0–0 0–0 2–1
 Congo 6 3 1 2 6 6 0 10 0–2 0–2 2–0
 Nigeria 6 2 2 2 9 7 +2 8 2–2 2–3 3–1
 Sudan 6 1 0 5 3 11 8 3 0–3 0–1 1–0
Source:

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  ALG  MLI  MWI  ETH
 Algeria 6 5 0 1 11 4 +7 15 1–0 3–0 3–1
 Mali 6 3 0 3 8 6 +2 9 2–0 2–0 2–3
 Malawi 6 2 1 3 5 9 4 7 0–2 2–0 3–2
 Ethiopia 6 1 1 4 7 12 5 4 1–2 0–2 0–0
Source:

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  GAB  BFA  ANG  LES
 Gabon 6 3 3 0 9 4 +5 12 2–0 1–0 4–2
 Burkina Faso 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4 11 1–1 1–1 2–0
 Angola 6 1 3 2 5 5 0 6 0–0 0–3 4–0
 Lesotho 6 0 2 4 3 12 9 2 1–1 0–1 0–0
Source:

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  CMR  CIV  COD  SLE
 Cameroon 6 4 2 0 9 1 +8 14 4–1 1–0 2–0
 Ivory Coast 6 3 1 2 13 11 +2 10 0–0 3–4 2–1
 DR Congo 6 3 0 3 10 9 +1 9 0–2 1–2 3–1
 Sierra Leone 6 0 1 5 3 14 11 1 0–0 1–5 0–2
Source:

Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  GHA  GUI  UGA  TOG
 Ghana 6 3 2 1 11 7 +4 11 3–1 1–1 3–1
 Guinea 6 3 1 2 10 8 +2 10 1–1 2–0 2–1
 Uganda 6 2 1 3 4 5 1 7 1–0 2–0 0–1
 Togo 6 2 0 4 7 12 5 6 2–3 1–4 1–0
Source:

Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  CPV  ZAM  MOZ  NIG
 Cape Verde 6 4 0 2 9 6 +3 12 2–1 1–0 3–1
 Zambia 6 3 2 1 6 2 +4 11 1–0 0–0 3–0
 Mozambique 6 1 3 2 4 4 0 6 2–0 0–1 1–1
 Niger 6 0 3 3 4 11 7 3 1–3 0–0 1–1
Source:

Group G

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  TUN  SEN  EGY  BOT
 Tunisia 6 4 2 0 6 2 +4 14 1–0 2–1 2–1
 Senegal 6 4 1 1 8 1 +7 13 0–0 2–0 3–0
 Egypt 6 2 0 4 5 6 1 6 0–1 0–1 2–0
 Botswana 6 0 1 5 1 11 10 1 0–0 0–2 0–2
Source:

Ranking of third-placed teams

Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
D  DR Congo 6 3 0 3 10 9 +1 9
A  Nigeria 6 2 2 2 9 7 +2 8
E  Uganda 6 2 1 3 4 5 1 7
B  Malawi 6 2 1 3 5 9 4 7
C  Angola 6 1 3 2 5 5 0 6
F  Mozambique 6 1 3 2 4 4 0 6
G  Egypt 6 2 0 4 5 6 1 6
Source:

Goalscorers

6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Notes

  1. South Sudan played their home matches outside of the country due to security concerns stemming from the South Sudanese Civil War.
  2. Libya played their home matches outside of the country due to security concerns.
  3. Central African Republic played their home matches outside of the country due to security concerns.

References

  1. "Regulations of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations" (PDF). Confederation of African Football.
  2. "CAF acknowledges Morocco's refusal to host ORANGE AFCON 2015 from January 17 to February 8". CAF. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014.
  3. "EQUATORIAL GUINEA DESIGNATED HOST COUNTRY OF ORANGE AFCON 2015". CAF. 14 November 2014.
  4. قرعة تصفيات كأس أفريقيا للأمم 2015 بالمغرب شهر مارس القادم بالدار البيضاء (in Arabic). kooora.com. 14 February 2013.
  5. "AFCON 2015 draw to be held in the beginning of 2014". Cafonline.com. 10 March 2013.
  6. "Elephants, Indomitable Lions handed tough draw". Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
  7. "Huge entry for AFCON 2015 qualifiers". cafonline.com. 7 January 2014.
  8. "Engagement 2015" (PDF). cafonline.com.
  9. "Decisions made by the CAF Executive Committee, convened January 24th 2014" (PDF). Cafonline.com. 26 January 2014.
  10. "Press Release following CAF EXCO May 2013 meetings". cafonline.com. 16 May 2013.
  11. "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee on 21.02.2014" (PDF). Cafonline.com. 24 February 2014.
  12. "Classification for the designation of the seeded teams for the qualifiers of AFCON 2015" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  13. "2014 Competitions Calendar" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  14. "Eritrea withdraws from Nations Cup Qualification". Reuters.com. 30 March 2014.
  15. "Eritrea withdraws from Can 2015". Cafonline.com. 30 March 2014.
  16. "Result of draw of 1st round of qualifiers". Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
  17. "Fixtures of the 1st round" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  18. "Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 draw procedure". Cafonline.com. 26 April 2014.
  19. "Equatorial Guinea disqualified from Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015". Cafonline.com. 3 July 2014.
  20. "Gambia suspended from all competitions for two years". Cafonline.com. 3 May 2014.
  21. "Fixtures of the 2nd round" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  22. "Rwanda banned from African Nations Cup over player with two identities". 18 August 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  23. "Rwanda disqualified, Congo qualify". Cafonline.com. 17 August 2014.
  24. "Orange CAN 2015: Seychelles withdraws". Cafonline.com. 31 July 2014.
  25. "Nations Cup 2015: Seychelles forced to forfeit". BBC Sport. 31 July 2014.
  26. "Result of Final Round of qualifiers". Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
  27. "Fixtures of the final round" (PDF). Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.