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2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

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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)Burkina Faso Jonathan Pitroipa
(6 goals)
← 2013
2017 →

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

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][3] 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 qualified for the tournament automatically by virtue of being the hosts.[4][5]

Qualified teams

[edit]
BERJAYA
  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
BERJAYA Equatorial GuineaHosts14 November 20142nd2012Quarter-finals (2012)
BERJAYA Cape VerdeGroup F winners15 October 20142nd2013Quarter-finals (2013)
BERJAYA AlgeriaGroup B winners15 October 201415th2013Winners (1990)
BERJAYA TunisiaGroup G winners14 November 201417th2013Winners (2004)
BERJAYA South AfricaGroup A winners15 November 20149th2013Winners (1996)
BERJAYA ZambiaGroup F runners-up15 November 201417th2013Winners (2012)
BERJAYA CameroonGroup D winners15 November 201417th2010Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002)
BERJAYA GabonGroup C winners15 November 20145th2012Quarter-finals (1996, 2012)
BERJAYA Burkina FasoGroup C runners-up15 November 20149th2013Runners-up (2013)
BERJAYA SenegalGroup G runners-up15 November 201413th2012Runners-up (2002)
BERJAYA Ivory CoastGroup D runners-up19 November 201420th2013Winners (1992)
BERJAYA GhanaGroup E winners19 November 201419th2013Winners (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
BERJAYA GuineaGroup E runners-up19 November 201411th2012Runners-up (1976)
BERJAYA MaliGroup B runners-up19 November 20148th2013Runners-up (1972)
BERJAYA CongoGroup A runners-up19 November 20147th2000Winners (1972)
BERJAYA DR CongoBest 3rd place19 November 201417th2013Winners (1968, 1974)

Format

[edit]

The qualifying draw was supposed to take place in Morocco on 10 March 2013 during CAF General Assembly.[6] 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.[7] 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).[8]

A total of 51 teams entered the qualification matches (Djibouti and Somalia did not enter).[9][10] 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.[11] This was different from the original proposal, which consisted of a preliminary round followed by a group stage with twelve groups of four teams.[12]

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:[11][13][14]

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

Schedule

[edit]

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[13][15]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

The draw for the preliminary round was held at the CAF Executive Committee on 21 February 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[13] The four teams ranked 48–51 played in this round.

On 30 March 2014, Eritrea withdrew from the preliminary round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,[16] likely due to a rising number of the Eritrean national team players defecting from Eritrea during away matches.[17]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Mauritania BERJAYA 3–0 BERJAYA Mauritius 1–0 2–0
Eritrea BERJAYA w/o BERJAYA South Sudan — —

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

Eritrea BERJAYACancelledBERJAYA South Sudan
Report
Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)

South Sudan advanced to the first round after Eritrea, who have a history of their players defecting whilst on international duty, withdrew.[18][19]

First round

[edit]

The draw for the first round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[20][21] 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.[22]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Liberia BERJAYA 1–2 BERJAYA Lesotho 1–0 0–2
Kenya BERJAYA 2–1 BERJAYA Comoros 1–0 1–1
Madagascar BERJAYA 2–2 (a) BERJAYA Uganda 2–1 0–1
Mauritania BERJAYA awd. BERJAYA Equatorial Guinea 1–0 0–3
Namibia BERJAYA 1–3 BERJAYA Congo 1–0 0–3
Libya BERJAYA 0–3 BERJAYA Rwanda 0–0 0–3
Burundi BERJAYA 0–1 BERJAYA Botswana 0–0 0–1
Central African Republic BERJAYA 1–3 BERJAYA Guinea-Bissau 0–0 1–3
Swaziland BERJAYA 1–2 BERJAYA Sierra Leone 1–1 0–1
Gambia BERJAYA awd. BERJAYA Seychelles — —
São Tomé and Príncipe BERJAYA 0–4 BERJAYA Benin 0–2 0–2
Malawi BERJAYA 3–3 (a) BERJAYA Chad 2–0 1–3
Tanzania BERJAYA 3–2 BERJAYA Zimbabwe 1–0 2–2
Mozambique BERJAYA 5–0 BERJAYA South Sudan 5–0 0–0
Lesotho BERJAYA2–0BERJAYA Liberia
Potloane BERJAYA 2'
Jetoh red-colored football 5' (o.g.)		 Report
Referee: Joshua Amao (Nigeria)

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

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

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

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.[23] Equatorial Guinea later qualified for the final tournament as replacement hosts.

Namibia BERJAYA1–0BERJAYA Congo
Bester BERJAYA 87' Report
Referee: Hagi Wiish (Somalia)

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

Rwanda BERJAYA3–0BERJAYA Libya
Birori BERJAYA 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.

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

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

Gambia BERJAYACancelledBERJAYA Seychelles
Report
Seychelles BERJAYACancelledBERJAYA 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.[24]

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

Malawi BERJAYA2–0BERJAYA Chad
Mhango BERJAYA 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 BERJAYA5–0BERJAYA South Sudan
Josemar BERJAYA 12'
Mexer BERJAYA 42'
Sonito BERJAYA 45', 53'
Isac BERJAYA 82'		 Report
Referee: Denis Batte (Uganda)

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

Second round

[edit]

The draw for the second round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[25] The 14 winners of the first round played in this round.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Lesotho BERJAYA 1–0 BERJAYA Kenya 1–0 0–0
Uganda BERJAYA 3–0 BERJAYA Mauritania 2–0 1–0
Congo BERJAYA awd. BERJAYA Rwanda 2–0 0–2
Botswana BERJAYA 3–1 BERJAYA Guinea-Bissau 2–0 1–1
Sierra Leone BERJAYA w/o BERJAYA Seychelles 2–0 —
Benin BERJAYA 1–1 (3–4 p) BERJAYA Malawi 1–0 0–1
Tanzania BERJAYA 3–4 BERJAYA Mozambique 2–2 1–2

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

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

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.[26] As a result, Congo advanced to Group A.[27]

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

Seychelles BERJAYACancelledBERJAYA Sierra Leone
Report
Referee: Hagi Wiish (Somalia)

Sierra Leone advanced to Group D after Seychelles withdrew.[28] 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 West African Ebola virus epidemic.[29]

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

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

Group stage

[edit]

The draw for the group stage was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[30][31] 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

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

Group B

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

Group C

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

Group D

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

Group E

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

Group F

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

Group G

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

Ranking of third-placed teams

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

Goalscorers

[edit]
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Notes

[edit]
  1. 1 2 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

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ "CAF to lift African Cup ban on Morocco". ESPN.com. 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  4. ↑ "EQUATORIAL GUINEA DESIGNATED HOST COUNTRY OF ORANGE AFCON 2015". CAF. 14 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea to host tournament". CNN. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  6. ↑ قرعة تصفيات كأس أفريقيا للأمم 2015 بالمغرب شهر مارس القادم بالدار البيضاء (in Arabic). kooora.com. 14 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "AFCON 2015 draw to be held in the beginning of 2014". Cafonline.com. 10 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Elephants, Indomitable Lions handed tough draw". Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Huge entry for AFCON 2015 qualifiers". cafonline.com. 7 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Engagement 2015" (PDF). cafonline.com.
  11. 1 2 "Decisions made by the CAF Executive Committee, convened January 24th 2014" (PDF). Cafonline.com. 26 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Press Release following CAF EXCO May 2013 meetings". cafonline.com. 16 May 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee on 21.02.2014" (PDF). Cafonline.com. 24 February 2014.
  14. ↑ "Classification for the designation of the seeded teams for the qualifiers of AFCON 2015" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  15. ↑ "2014 Competitions Calendar" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  16. ↑ "Eritrea Withdraws from CAN 2015". TesfaNews. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "2015 Africa Cup of Nations: Eritrea withdraw from qualifiers". BBC News. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Eritrea withdraws from Nations Cup Qualification". Reuters.com. 30 March 2014. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Eritrea withdraws from Can 2015". Cafonline.com. 30 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "Result of draw of 1st round of qualifiers". Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "Fixtures of the 1st round" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  22. ↑ "Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 draw procedure". Cafonline.com. 26 April 2014.
  23. ↑ "Equatorial Guinea disqualified from Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015". Cafonline.com. 3 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Gambia suspended from all competitions for two years". Cafonline.com. 3 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "Fixtures of the 2nd round" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  26. ↑ "Rwanda banned from African Nations Cup over player with two identities". 18 August 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  27. ↑ "Rwanda disqualified, Congo qualify". Cafonline.com. 17 August 2014.
  28. ↑ "Orange CAN 2015: Seychelles withdraws". Cafonline.com. 31 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Nations Cup 2015: Seychelles forced to forfeit". BBC Sport. 31 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "Result of Final Round of qualifiers". Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
  31. ↑ "Fixtures of the final round" (PDF). Cafonline.com. 27 April 2014.
[edit]
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