2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the 33rd edition of the international men's football championship of Africa. A total of 24 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Cameroon who qualified automatically as hosts.

Draw

The draw took place on 18 July 2019, 18:30 CAT (UTC+2), in Cairo, Egypt. A total of 52 teams entered the tournament, including the hosts Cameroon, while Eritrea and Somalia chose to not enter the qualifiers.

Seeding

The teams were seeded based upon their June 2019 FIFA World Rankings (ranking shown in parentheses). All 44 teams from Pot 1 to Pot 4 entered the competition at the group stage, while teams from Pot 5 had to compete at the preliminary round in order to advance to the group stage.

Each group contained one team from Pot 1, 2 and 3. Groups from A to D contained a winning team from the preliminary round, while groups from E to L contained a team from Pot 4. Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying competition was as follows. After the rescheduling of the final tournament from June/July to January/February, the dates of matchdays 3–6 of the group stage were also rescheduled.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches of matchdays 3 and 4 scheduled for March 2020 were postponed until further notice. FIFA recommended that all June 2020 international matches (matchday 5) be postponed, and also postponed the September 2020 window (matchday 6) for CAF.

On 30 June 2020, the CAF announced the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final tournament had been postponed from January 2021 to January 2022, without announcing the new dates of the remaining qualifiers. On 19 August 2020, CAF announced the second revised dates for both Africa Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Preliminary round

All eight teams from Pot 5 were drawn into four ties and played in home-and-away two-legged format. The four winners advanced to the group stage to join the 44 teams which entered directly. They went to positions A4, B4, C4 and D4 respectively based on their tie number.

Group stage

The 48 teams were drawn into twelve groups of four teams (from Group A to Group L). Teams consisted of the 44 teams which entered directly, in addition to the four winners of the preliminary round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations hosts, Cameroon, participated in the qualifiers with the team guaranteed a spot in the finals regardless of its ranking in the group. Their matches and results counted in determining the qualification of the other teams from their group. If Cameroon had finished out of top two teams in their group, a group runner-up would not have qualified for the main tournament.

;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 (Regulations Article 14):
#Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
# Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
#Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
#Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
#If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
#Goal difference in all group matches;
#Goals scored in all group matches;
#Away goals scored in all group matches;
#Drawing of lots.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Group I

Group J

Group K

Group L

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

:

¹ Bold indicates champions for that year. ''Italics'' indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

{{Goalscorers
, goals=335 , matches=150

, 5 goals=
*{{fbicon, NGA Victor Osimhen
*{{fbicon, ZAM Patson Daka

, 4 goals=
*{{fbicon, ALG Baghdad Bounedjah
*{{fbicon, BDI Saidi Ntibazonkiza
*{{fbicon, CTA Louis Mafouta
*{{fbicon, RSA Percy Tau

, 3 goals=
*{{fbicon, ALG Riyad Mahrez
*{{fbicon, CMR Vincent Aboubakar
*{{fbicon, ETH Getaneh Kebede
*{{fbicon, GAB Denis Bouanga
*{{fbicon, GAM Assan Ceesay
*{{fbicon, GHA Mohammed Kudus
*{{fbicon, CIV Franck Kessié
*{{fbicon, MAR Hakim Ziyech
*{{fbicon, NGA Alex Iwobi
*{{fbicon, STP Luís Leal
*{{fbicon, SEN Famara Diédhiou
*{{fbicon, SDN Mohamed Abdelrahman
*{{fbicon, TUN Seifeddine Jaziri
*{{fbicon, TUN Saîf-Eddine Khaoui
*{{fbicon, TUN Wahbi Khazri

, 2 goals=
*{{fbicon, ALG Youcef Belaïli
*{{fbicon, ALG Sofiane Feghouli
*{{fbicon, ALG Islam Slimani
*{{fbicon, BEN Jodel Dossou
*{{fbicon, BFA Aristide Bancé
*{{fbicon, BFA Lassina Traoré
*{{fbicon, CPV Ryan Mendes
*{{fbicon, CHA Ezechiel N'Douassel
*{{fbicon, CGO Prince Ibara
*{{fbicon, CGO Junior Makiesse
*{{fbicon, EGY Afsha
*{{fbicon, EGY Mohamed Salah
*{{fbicon, EGY Mohamed Sherif
*{{fbicon, EQG Pedro Obiang
*{{fbicon, ETH Shimelis Bekele
*{{fbicon, ETH Amanuel Gebremichael
*{{fbicon, GAB Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
*{{fbicon, GAB Aaron Boupendza
*{{fbicon, GAM Bubacarr Jobe
*{{fbicon, GHA André Ayew
*{{fbicon, GHA Jordan Ayew
*{{fbicon, GUI Naby Keïta
*{{fbicon, GNB Jorginho
*{{fbicon, GNB Piqueti
*{{fbicon, CIV Serge Aurier
*{{fbicon, LBY Sanad Al Warfali
*{{fbicon, LBY Muaid Ellafi
*{{fbicon, MAD Lalaïna Nomenjanahary
*{{fbicon, MAD Paulin Voavy
*{{fbicon, MWI Richard Mbulu
*{{fbicon, MAR Youssef En-Nesyri
*{{fbicon, MAR Achraf Hakimi
*{{fbicon, MOZ Telinho
*{{fbicon, NAM Peter Shalulile
*{{fbicon, NGA Samuel Chukwueze
*{{fbicon, NGA Paul Onuachu
*{{fbicon, SEN Sadio Mané
*{{fbicon, SLE Alhaji Kamara
*{{fbicon, SLE Kwame Quee
*{{fbicon, RSA Themba Zwane
*{{fbicon, SSD Joseph Kuch
*{{fbicon, SDN Seif Teiri
*{{fbicon, TAN Simon Msuva
*{{fbicon, ZIM Khama Billiat

, 1 goal=
*{{fbicon, ALG Ramy Bensebaini
*{{fbicon, ALG Farid Boulaya
*{{fbicon, ALG Andy Delort
*{{fbicon, ALG Rachid Ghezzal
*{{fbicon, ALG Aïssa Mandi
*{{fbicon, ALG Hillal Soudani
*{{fbicon, ANG Loide Augusto
*{{fbicon, ANG Wilson Eduardo
*{{fbicon, ANG Show
*{{fbicon, ANG Yano
*{{fbicon, BEN Stéphane Sessègnon
*{{fbicon, BOT Mosha Gaolaolwe
*{{fbicon, BOT Tumisang Orebonye
*{{fbicon, BFA Bryan Dabo
*{{fbicon, BFA Bertrand Traoré
*{{fbicon, BDI Youssouf Ndayishimiye
*{{fbicon, BDI Christophe Nduwarugira
*{{fbicon, CMR Pierre Kunde
*{{fbicon, CMR Clinton N'Jie
*{{fbicon, CMR Moumi Ngamaleu
*{{fbicon, CMR Serge Tabekou
*{{fbicon, CMR André-Frank Zambo Anguissa
*{{fbicon, CPV Kuca
*{{fbicon, CPV Garry Rodrigues
*{{fbicon, CTA Vianney Mabidé
*{{fbicon, CHA Ahmat Abdaraman
*{{fbicon, COM El Fardou Ben Nabouhane
*{{fbicon, COM Faiz Mattoir
*{{fbicon, COM Youssouf M'Changama
*{{fbicon, COM Faïz Selemani
*{{fbicon, CGO Silvère Ganvoula
*{{fbicon, DRC Cédric Bakambu
*{{fbicon, DRC Kazadi Kasengu
*{{fbicon, DRC Neeskens Kebano
*{{fbicon, DRC Jackson Muleka
*{{fbicon, DJI Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh
*{{fbicon, EGY Mahmoud Hamdy
*{{fbicon, EGY Mahmoud Kahraba
*{{fbicon, EGY Mohamed El Neny
*{{fbicon, EGY Trézéguet
*{{fbicon, EQG Josete Miranda
*{{fbicon, EQG Emilio Nsue
*{{fbicon, EQG Salomón Obama
*{{fbicon, EQG Iban Salvador
*{{fbicon, ESW Felix Badenhorst
*{{fbicon, ESW Sabelo Gamedze
*{{fbicon, ESW Fganelo Mamba
*{{fbicon, ETH Surafel Dagnachew
*{{fbicon, ETH Mohamed Mesud
*{{fbicon, ETH Abubeker Nassir
*{{fbicon, GAB Bruno Ecuele Manga
*{{fbicon, GAM Modou Barrow
*{{fbicon, GAM Musa Barrow
*{{fbicon, GAM Mamadou Danso
*{{fbicon, GAM Ablie Jallow
*{{fbicon, GAM Sulayman Marreh
*{{fbicon, GAM Bubacarr Sanneh
*{{fbicon, GHA Nicholas Opoku
*{{fbicon, GHA Thomas Partey
*{{fbicon, GHA Baba Rahman
*{{fbicon, GUI Mady Camara
*{{fbicon, GUI Sékou Condé
*{{fbicon, GUI Mamadou Kane
*{{fbicon, GUI José Kanté
*{{fbicon, GUI Seydouba Soumah
*{{fbicon, GUI Issiaga Sylla
*{{fbicon, GNB Marcelo Djaló
*{{fbicon, GNB João Mário
*{{fbicon, GNB Frédéric Mendy
*{{fbicon, GNB Pelé
*{{fbicon, GNB Alfa Semedo
*{{fbicon, CIV Willy Boly
*{{fbicon, CIV Gervinho
*{{fbicon, CIV Max Gradel
*{{fbicon, CIV Sébastien Haller
*{{fbicon, CIV Wilfried Kanon
*{{fbicon, CIV Jean Evrard Kouassi
*{{fbicon, KEN Masoud Juma
*{{fbicon, KEN Cliff Nyakeya
*{{fbicon, KEN Michael Olunga
*{{fbicon, KEN Johanna Omolo
*{{fbicon, LES Masoabi Nkoto
*{{fbicon, LES Jane Thabantso
*{{fbicon, LBR Kpah Sherman
*{{fbicon, LBY Mohamed Bettamer
*{{fbicon, LBY Hamdou Elhouni
*{{fbicon, LBY Anis Saltou
*{{fbicon, MAD Anicet Abel
*{{fbicon, MAD Ibrahim Amada
*{{fbicon, MAD Carolus Andriamatsinoro
*{{fbicon, MAD Jeremy Morel
*{{fbicon, MAD Rayan Raveloson
*{{fbicon, MWI Gabadinho Mhango
*{{fbicon, MWI Gerald Phiri
*{{fbicon, MLI Mohamed Camara
*{{fbicon, MLI Moussa Djenepo
*{{fbicon, MLI Moussa Doumbia
*{{fbicon, MLI Sékou Koïta
*{{fbicon, MLI Adama Traoré
*{{fbicon, MLI El Bilal Touré
*{{fbicon, MTN Diallo Guidileye
*{{fbicon, MTN Hacen
*{{fbicon, MTN Aboubakar Kamara
*{{fbicon, MTN Bakary N'Diaye
*{{fbicon, MTN Mamadou Niass
*{{fbicon, MRI Ashley Nazira
*{{fbicon, MRI Kevin Perticots
*{{fbicon, MAR Zakaria Aboukhlal
*{{fbicon, MAR Noussair Mazraoui
*{{fbicon, MAR Munir
*{{fbicon, MOZ Kamo-Kamo
*{{fbicon, MOZ Mexer
*{{fbicon, MOZ Witi
*{{fbicon, NAM Elmo Kambindu
*{{fbicon, NAM Chris Katjiukua
*{{fbicon, NIG Yussif Moussa
*{{fbicon, NIG Youssef Oumarou
*{{fbicon, NIG Amadou Wonkoye
*{{fbicon, NGA Peter Etebo
*{{fbicon, NGA Samuel Kalu
*{{fbicon, RWA Lague Byiringiro
*{{fbicon, STP Marcos Barbeiro
*{{fbicon, STP Harramiz
*{{fbicon, STP Iniesta
*{{fbicon, STP Jocy
*{{fbicon, STP Ludgério Silva
*{{fbicon, SEN Habib Diallo
*{{fbicon, SEN Cheikhou Kouyaté
*{{fbicon, SEN Badou Ndiaye
*{{fbicon, SEN Opa Nguette
*{{fbicon, SEN Sidy Sarr
*{{fbicon, SEY Nigel Hoareau
*{{fbicon, SLE Mustapha Bundu
*{{fbicon, SLE Kei Kamara
*{{fbicon, RSA Lebogang Phiri
*{{fbicon, RSA Bongani Zungu
*{{fbicon, SSD Tito Okello
*{{fbicon, SSD Stephen Pawaar
*{{fbicon, SSD Koang Thok
*{{fbicon, SDN Ramadan Agab
*{{fbicon, SDN Mohamed El-Rasheed
*{{fbicon, SDN Ahmed Hamid
*{{fbicon, SDN Seifeldin Malik
*{{fbicon, TAN Salum Abubakar
*{{fbicon, TAN Feisal Salum
*{{fbicon, TAN Mbwana Samatta
*{{fbicon, TOG Elom Nya-Vedji
*{{fbicon, TOG Hakim Ouro-Sama
*{{fbicon, TUN Mohamed Dräger
*{{fbicon, TUN Youssef Msakni
*{{fbicon, TUN Ellyes Skhiri
*{{fbicon, TUN Anis Ben Slimane
*{{fbicon, UGA Fahad Bayo
*{{fbicon, UGA Halid Lwaliwa
*{{fbicon, UGA Emmanuel Okwi
*{{fbicon, ZAM Clatous Chama
*{{fbicon, ZAM Enock Mwepu
*{{fbicon, ZAM Collins Sikombe
*{{fbicon, ZIM Perfect Chikwende
*{{fbicon, ZIM Prince Dube
*{{fbicon, ZIM Tinotenda Kadewere
*{{fbicon, ZIM Knowledge Musona

, 1 own goal=
*{{fbicon, CMR Macky Bagnack (against Cape Verde)
*{{fbicon, CHA Mathieu Adoassou (against Namibia)
*{{fbicon, EQG Carlos Akapo (against Tunisia)
*{{fbicon, GAM Mohammed Mbye (against Djibouti)
*{{fbicon, GUI Issiaga Sylla (against Mali)
*{{fbicon, MOZ Faisal Bangal (against Cape Verde)
*{{fbicon, NGA Chidozie Awaziem (against Lesotho)
*{{fbicon, STP Jordão Diogo (against Sudan)
*{{fbicon, TUN Firas Chaouat (against Equatorial Guinea)

References

{{reflist

{{2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
{{2021 Africa Cup of Nations
{{African Nations Cup

{{DEFAULTSORT:Africa Cup of Nations qualification 2021

2021
Qualification
2019 in African football
2020 in African football
October 2019 sports events in Africa
November 2019 sports events in Africa
November 2020 sports events in Africa
March 2021 sports events in Africa
Association football events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic