The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...
(CAF) to decide the participating teams of the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...
, the 32nd edition of the international men's
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
championship of Africa.
As per the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017, a total of 24 teams qualified to play in the final tournament.
Draw
A total of 51 teams entered the tournament, including
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
which would have qualified automatically for the final tournament as the hosts before their hosting rights were stripped. The draw for the qualifications stage took place on 12 January 2017, 19:30
UTC+1
+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in:
*Central European Time
* West Africa Time
* Western European Summer Time
**Brit ...
, in
Libreville
Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...
,
Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
.
Seeding
The teams were ranked using CAF's own system which calculated seeding based on each team's performance in the three most recent editions of the Africa Cup of Nations final tournaments, the three most recent editions of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup final tournament and qualifying campaign.
The teams ranked 1–45 (Pots 1–4) directly entered the group stage, while the teams ranked 46–51 (Pot 5) entered the preliminary round.
;Notes
Procedure
The nine teams from Pot 4 were drawn in Groups D to L, while the twelve teams from each of the Pots 3, 2 and 1 were drawn in Groups A to L. Then, the six teams from Pot 5 were drawn into three pairings, which would play in the preliminary round. The three winners would advance to Groups A, B and C of the group stage.
Schedule
The schedule of the qualifying tournament was as follows.
Matchday 2 was postponed at the request of the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
qualified teams so that they could play friendly matches in March 2018 to prepare for the World Cup.
Preliminary round
The six teams were drawn into three ties, played in home-and-away
two-legged format. The three winners advanced to the group stage to join the 45 teams which entered directly.
Group stage
The 48 teams were drawn into 12 groups of four teams (from Group A to Group L). They consisted of the 45 teams which entered directly, plus the three winners of the preliminary round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
The original host Cameroon was drawn into
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...
. With the team guaranteed a spot in the finals regardless of its ranking in the group, its matches would have counted in determining the qualification of the other teams.
All group winners plus three best runners-up would have qualified for the finals. From Group B, if Cameroon had finished first or second, the other team placed in the top 2 would have qualified too and no other team would have been eligible to qualify, while if Cameroon had finished third or fourth, the group winner would have qualified and the runner-up would have been eligible to qualify as one of the three best runners-up.
On 20 July 2017, when the first round of the qualifying group stage had already been played, the final tournament was expanded from 16 to 24 teams. Under the new format, the best-placed team other than Cameroon would have qualified from Group B, while the group winners and runners-up would have qualified from all other groups.
On 30 November 2018 Cameroon was stripped of the hosting rights. The team lost its automatic spot for the finals but still could qualify through the qualification process, which it eventually did. On 8 January 2019 Egypt was named as the replacement host. As at that point Egypt had already been assured of a top 2 finish in
Group J, the winners and runners-up from all qualification groups would now qualify for the final tournament.
;Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to
points
A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to:
Mathematics
* Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
(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
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
#Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
#
Away goals
The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
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 24 teams qualified for the final tournament.
:
1 Bold indicates champion for that year. ''Italic'' indicates host for that year.
Goalscorers
;7 goals
*
Odion Ighalo
Odion Jude Ighalo (born 16 June 1989) is a Nigerian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Saudi Pro League club Al Wehda FC, Al-Wehda.
After starting his career at Nigerian clu ...
;6 goals
*
Fiston Abdul Razak
;5 goals
*
El Fardou Ben Nabouhane
*
Knowledge Musona
;4 goals
*
Mateus Galiano
*
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Liverpool F.C., L ...
*
Anis Saltou
*
Percy Tau
*
Naim Sliti
;3 goals
*
Baghdad Bounedjah
*
Gelson
*
Cédric Amissi
*
Thievy Bifouma
*
Cédric Bakambu
Cédric Bakambu (born 11 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for La Liga club Real Betis and the DR Congo national team.
Bakambu made his professional debut for Sochaux in 2010, and played 107 offi ...
*
Trézéguet
*
Emilio Nsue
Emilio Nsue López (born 30 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays for Primera Federación club Intercity. Born in Spain, he is the captain and all-time leading scorer of the Equatorial Guinea national team. A versatile playe ...
*
Frédéric Mendy
*
William Jebor
*
Ahmad Benali
*
Carolus Andriamatsinoro
*
Faneva Imà Andriatsima
*
Paulin Voavy
Paulin Voavy (born 10 November 1987) is a Madagascar, Malagasy professional association football, footballer who plays for Réunion Premier League side Saint-Pauloise FC and the Madagascar national football team, Madagascar national team.
Care ...
*
Ismaël Diakité
*
Hakim Ziyech
Hakim Ziyech (; ; ; born 19 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), right winger or an attacking midfielder. He most recently played for Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail SC, Al-Duhail, before leavin ...
*
Jacques Tuyisenge
*
M'Baye Niang
*
Farouk Miya
*
Justin Shonga
*
Khama Billiat
;2 goals
*
Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Karim Mahrez (born 21 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and captains the Algeria national team. He is regarded as one of the best African players of all time.
Ma ...
*
Steve Mounié
*
Aristide Bancé
*
Bertrand Traoré
*
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
*
Ricardo Gomes
Ricardo Gomes Raymundo (born 13 December 1964) is a Brazilian retired professional footballer and manager. As a player, he played as a central defender, in a 14-year professional career, for Fluminense (six years), Benfica (four) and Par ...
*
Prince Ibara
*
Marwan Mohsen
*
Denis Bouanga
*
Assan Ceesay
*
Jordan Ayew
Jordan Pierre Ayew (born 11 September 1991) is a Ghanaian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Leicester City F.C., Leicester Cit ...
*
Raphael Dwamena
*
François Kamano
*
Piqueti
*
Eric Bailly
*
Maxwel Cornet
*
Seydou Doumbia
Seydou Doumbia (; born 31 December 1987) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
After beginning his career in the Ivory Coast and Japan, he arrived in Europe in 2008 to play for Swiss club Young Boys, where he wa ...
*
Jonathan Kodjia
*
Michael Olunga
*
Hamdou Elhouni
*
Mohamed Zubya
*
Kalifa Coulibaly
*
Adama Traoré
*
Youssef En-Nesyri
*
Stanley Ratifo
*
Reginaldo
*
Peter Shalulile
*
Victorien Adebayor
Adebayor Zakari Adje (born 12 November 1996) is a Nigerien professional association football, footballer who plays for South African Premier Division, DStv Premiership clubs AmaZulu F.C., AmaZulu and the Niger national football team, Niger nati ...
*
Ahmed Musa
*
Idrissa Gueye
*
Moussa Sow
Moussa Sow (born 19 January 1986) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Born in France, he represented Senegal national football team, Senegal at international level, s ...
*
Lebo Mothiba
*
James Moga
*
Simon Msuva
*
Mbwana Samatta
*
Firas Chaouat
*
Taha Yassine Khenissi
*
Yassine Meriah
*
Emmanuel Okwi
*
Augustine Mulenga
;1 goal
*
Mehdi Abeid
*
Youcef Attal
*
Ramy Bensebaini
*
Sofiane Hanni
*
Djalma
*
Wilson Eduardo
Wilson Bruno Naval da Costa Eduardo (born 8 July 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Primeira Liga club Alverca.
He was formed at Sporting CP, but spent most of his time out on loan. In 2015 he joined Braga, with who ...
*
Sessi D'Almeida
*
David Djigla
*
Stéphane Sessègnon
*
Keeagile Kobe
*
Issoufou Dayo
*
Banou Diawara
*
Jonathan Pitroipa
Beninwende Yann Jonathan Pitroipa (born 12 April 1986) is a Burkinabé former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger.
Since making his debut for Burkina Faso in 2006, he has featured ...
*
Abdou Razack Traoré
*
Saido Berahino
Saido Berahino (born 4 August 1993) is a Burundian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), striker for NK Tabor Sežana, Tabor Sežana and Captain (association football), captains the Burundi ...
*
Gaël Duhayindavyi
*
Vincent Aboubakar
Vincent Paté Aboubakar (born 22 January 1992) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Süper Lig club Hatayspor and captains the Cameroon national team.
Aboubakar began his career at Coton Sport a ...
*
Stéphane Bahoken
*
Christian Bassogog
*
Clinton N'Jie
*
Djaniny
*
Stopira
*
Junior Gourrier
*
Habib Habibou
*
Salif Kéïta
*
Geoffrey Kondogbia
*
Chaker Alhadhur
*
Nasser Chamed
*
Benjaloud Youssouf
*
Merveil Ndockyt
*
Prince Oniangué
Prince Alban Oniangué (born 4 November 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Born in France, he plays for the Republic of the Congo at international level.
Club career
Born in Paris, Oniangué joined the youth system at ...
*
Mohamed Salem Breik
*
Abdi Idleh Hamza
*
Yannick Bolasie
Yannick Bolasie (born 24 May 1989) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, Cruzeiro.
He has played in Football in En ...
*
Kabongo Kasongo
*
Chancel Mbemba
*
Elia Meschak
*
Ayman Ashraf
*
Ahmed Elmohamady
*
Baher El Mohamady
*
Mohamed Elneny
*
Ahmed Hegazi
Ahmed Elsayed Ali Elsayed Hegazy (; born 25 January 1991), simply known as Ahmed Hegazi, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi First Division League club Neom and captains the Egypt national team.
Hegazi ...
*
Salah Mohsen
*
Amr Warda
*
Pablo Ganet
*
Pedro Obiang
*
Sibonginkosi Gamedze
*
Sifiso Nkambule
*
Getaneh Kebede
*
Aaron Appindangoyé
Aaron Christopher Billy Ondélé Appindangoyé (born 20 February 1992) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Turkish club Kocaelispor.
Club career
Trained in Gabon, at the CF Mounana, Gabon's champion in 201 ...
*
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Saudi Pro League club Al Qadsiah FC, Al-Qadsiah and Captain (associat ...
*
André Biyogo Poko
*
Mamadou Danso
*
Ablie Jallow
*
Lamin Jallow
*
Bubacarr Jobe
*
John Boye
*
Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan ( ; born 22 November 1985) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is a former Captain (association football), captain of the Ghana national foo ...
*
Ebenezer Ofori
*
Jeffrey Schlupp
Jeffrey Schlupp (; born 23 December 1992) is a professional association football, footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Celtic F.C., Celtic, on loan from club Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace. A versatile player, Schlupp has pla ...
*
Ibrahima Cissé
*
Sadio Diallo
*
José Kanté
*
Naby Keïta
*
Seydouba Soumah
*
Mohamed Yattara
*
Carlos Embaló
Carlos Apna Embaló (born 25 November 1994) is a Bissau-Guinean footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Italian Serie D club Scafatese.
Club career
Embalo was bought by Palermo from Portuguese team Chaves. ''Rosanero'' then loaned E ...
*
Edigeison Gomes
*
Toni Silva
*
Cheick Doukouré
*
Max Gradel
Max-Alain Gradel (born 30 November 1987) is an Ivorian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger.
Gradel received his first call-up to the Ivory Coast national team in November 2010. He ma ...
*
Nicolas Pépé
*
Jean Michaël Seri
Jean Michaël Seri (born 19 July 1991) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Orobah and the Ivory Coast national team.
Club career Early career in the Ivory Coast
In his native Ivo ...
*
Eric Johana Omondi
Eric Johana Omondi (born 18 August 1994) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga I club UTA Arad and the Kenya national team.
Club career
On 26 January 2022, Johana Omondi joined Waasland-Beveren in Belgium as a f ...
*
Victor Wanyama
Victor Mugubi Wanyama (; born 25 June 1991) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Dunfermline Athletic. He also plays for the Kenya national team.
Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to sc ...
*
Nkau Lerotholi
*
Sera Motebang
*
Thapelo Tale
*
Teah Dennis Jr.
*
Sam Johnson
Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930 – May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the act ...
*
Rabi Al-Shadi
*
Muaid Ellafi
*
Salem Roma
*
Khaled Majdi
*
Motasem Sabbou
*
Njiva Rakotoharimalala
*
Gerald Phiri Jr.
*
Patrick Phiri
*
Yves Bissouma
*
Salif Coulibaly
*
Moussa Djenepo
*
Moussa Doumbia
*
Mamadou Fofana
*
Moussa Marega
*
Adama Ba
*
Khassa Camara
*
Moctar Sidi El Hacen
*
Mohamed Soudani
*
Kévin Bru
*
Nordin Amrabat
*
Khalid Boutaïb
Khalid Boutaïb (; born 24 April 1987) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Ligue 2 club Pau FC, Pau. Born in France, he represented Morocco national football team, ...
*
Fayçal Fajr
*
Nelson Divrassone
*
Mexer
Edson André Sitoe (born 8 September 1988), known as Mexer, is a Mozambican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for TFF First League club Bandırmaspor and the Mozambique national football team, Mozambique na ...
*
Zainadine
*
Deon Hotto
*
Benson Shilongo
Benson Shilongo (born 18 May 1992) is a Namibian professional footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American footba ...
*
Petrus Shitembi
*
Amadou Moutari
*
Youssouf Oumarou
*
Chidozie Awaziem
*
Samuel Kalu
*
Henry Onyekuru
*
Moses Simon
*
Meddie Kagere
*
Ernest Sugira
*
Harramiz
*
Zé
*
Keita Baldé
*
Pape Abou Cissé
*
Moussa Konaté
*
Sidy Sarr
*
Leroy Coralie
*
Rody Melanie
*
Perry Monnaie
*
Umaru Bangura
*
Julius Wobay
*
Thulani Hlatshwayo
Thulani Tyson Hlatshwayo (born 18 December 1989) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Supersport United.
Career
Ajax Cape Town
Hlatshwayo was born in Soweto, Gauteng. He made his professional debut for Aj ...
*
Teboho Mokoena
*
Lebo Mothiba
*
Dino Ndlovu
*
Tokelo Rantie
*
Dominic Aboi
*
Leon Uso Khamis
*
Atak Lual
*
Dominic Abui Pretino
*
Athir Thomas
*
Duku Wurube
*
Abuaagla Abdalla
*
Seif Teiri
*
Athar El Tahir
*
Mohamed Musa Idris
*
Yasir Muzamil
*
Aggrey Morris
*
Erasto Nyoni
Erasto Edward Nyoni (born 7 May 1988) is a Tanzanian footballer who plays for Tanzanian club Namungo.
He is the most capped player of the Tanzania national team with 106 caps.
International career
Nyoni represents Tanzania at international le ...
*
Emmanuel Adebayor
*
Floyd Ayité
*
Kévin Denkey
*
Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba
*
Anice Badri
Anice Badri (; born 18 September 1990) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays for UAE Third Division League club AFC as a forward.
Club career
Anice Badri spent his childhood in Lyon, his hometown. At the age of 13, he joined the O ...
*
Syam Ben Youssef
*
Patrick Kaddu
*
Geoffrey Sserunkuma
*
Lazarous Kambole
*
Donashano Malama
*
Stoppila Sunzu
*
Ronald Pfumbidzai
;1 own goal
*
Omar Ngando ()
*
Luis Meseguer ()
*
Nicholas Opoku ()
*
Jordão Diogo
Jordão da Encarnação Tackey Diogo (born 12 November 1985) is a São Toméan former professional footballer who played as a left-back or a left midfielder.
Club career
Born in Lisbon of São Tomé and Príncipe descent, Diogo made his senior ...
()
*
Kalidou Koulibaly ()
*
Nigel Hoareau ()
*
Buhle Mkhwanazi ()
*
Hassan James ()
*
Teenage Hadebe ()
References
External links
32nd Edition Of Total Africa Cup Of Nations CAFonline.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Africa Cup of Nations qualification 2019
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
Qualification
Qualification may refer to:
Processes
* Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress
* Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
2017 in African football
2018 in African football
2019 in African football
March 2017 sports events in Africa
June 2017 sports events in Africa
September 2018 sports events in Africa
October 2018 sports events in Africa
November 2018 sports events in Africa
March 2019 sports events in Africa