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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 September 2019 – 29 March 2022 |
| Teams | 54 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 158 |
| Goals scored | 361 (2.28 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,229,510 (7,782 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Islam Slimani(8 goals) |
← 2018 2026 → | |
| Qualification for championships (CAF) |
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The African section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). A total of five slots in the final tournament were available for CAF teams.[1]
A previous proposal to merge the qualification rounds for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with those for the World Cup was turned down after a CAF meeting on 11 June 2018.[2]
CAF reverted to the format used for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification competition.[3]
All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification. The FIFA World Rankings of July 2019 were used to determine which nations would compete in the first round. For seeding in the second and third round draws, the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to those draws were used.
Libya was threatened with exclusion from the qualifiers if it failed to pay debts to their former coach Javier Clemente. However, Libya complied after FIFA gave them a new deadline.[4] Sierra Leone also faced possible exclusion from the qualifiers due to the suspension of their football association.[5] However, the suspension was lifted by the FIFA Council on 3 June 2019.[6]
| Bye to the second round (ranked 1st to 26th) |
Competing in first round (ranked 27th to 54th) |
|---|---|
 Tunisia (29) Nigeria (33) Algeria (40) Morocco (41) Egypt (46) Ghana (50) Cameroon (53) DR Congo (56) Ivory Coast (57) Mali (59) Burkina Faso (61) South Africa (70) Guinea (75) Cape Verde (76) Uganda (80) Zambia (81) Benin (82) Gabon (90) Congo (91) Madagascar (96) Niger (104) Libya (105) Mauritania (106) Kenya (107) Central African Republic (111) |
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Below is the schedule of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.[8][9] After the rescheduling of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final tournament from June/July to January/February, the dates of the matchdays 1–2 of the second round were also rescheduled.[10] Because of the interruption of the competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the schedule of the second and third round was revised again and on 19 August 2020 CAF announced the new dates for the aforementioned rounds.[11]
| Stage | Matchday | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| First round | First leg | 4–7 September 2019 |
| Second leg | 8–10 September 2019 | |
| Second round | Matchday 1 | 1–3 September 2021[a] |
| Matchday 2 | 5–7 September 2021[b] | |
| Matchday 3 | 6–9 October 2021[c] | |
| Matchday 4 | 10–12 October 2021[c] | |
| Matchday 5 | 11–13 November 2021[d] | |
| Matchday 6 | 14–16 November 2021[e] | |
| Third round | First leg | 24–26 March 2022 |
| Second leg | 27–29 March 2022 |
The draw for the first round was held on 29 July 2019 at 12:00 EST (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[12][13]
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ethiopia 
|
1–1 (a) |  Lesotho
|
0–0 | 1–1 |
Somalia 
|
2–3 |  Zimbabwe
|
1–0 | 1–3 |
Eritrea 
|
1–4 |  Namibia
|
1–2 | 0–2 |
Burundi 
|
2–2 (0–3 p) |  Tanzania
|
1–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
Djibouti 
|
2–1 |  Eswatini
|
2–1 | 0–0 |
Botswana 
|
0–1 |  Malawi
|
0–0 | 0–1 |
Gambia 
|
1–3 |  Angola
|
0–1 | 1–2 |
Liberia 
|
3–2 |  Sierra Leone
|
3–1 | 0–1 |
Mauritius 
|
0–3 |  Mozambique
|
0–1 | 0–2 |
São Tomé and Príncipe 
|
1–3 |  Guinea-Bissau
|
0–1 | 1–2 |
South Sudan 
|
1–2 |  Equatorial Guinea
|
1–1 | 0–1 |
Comoros 
|
1–3 |  Togo
|
1–1 | 0–2 |
Chad 
|
1–3 |  Sudan
|
1–3 | 0–0 |
Seychelles 
|
0–10 |  Rwanda
|
0–3 | 0–7 |
The draw for the second round was held on 21 January 2020, 19:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Cairo, Egypt.[14]
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 4 | +21 | 14 | Advance to third round | — | 2–2 | 6–1 | 8–0 | |
| 2 | Burkina Faso
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 12 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Niger
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 7 | 0–4 | 0–2 | — | 7–2 | ||
| 4 | Djibouti
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 29 | −25 | 0 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–4 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunisia
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 13 | Advance to third round | — | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Equatorial Guinea
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 11 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Zambia
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 7 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 4 | Mauritania
|
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 13 | Advance to third round | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | Cape Verde
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 11 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Liberia
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Central African Republic
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameroon
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 15 | Advance to third round | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Ivory Coast
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 13 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Mozambique
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Malawi
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 3 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mali
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 16 | Advance to third round | — | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Uganda
|
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 9 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Kenya
|
6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 6 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Rwanda
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 14 | Advance to third round | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Gabon
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 7 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Libya
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 7 | 0–3 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Angola
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 5 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 13 | Advance to third round | — | 1–0[a] | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 2 | South Africa
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 13 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Ethiopia
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Zimbabwe
|
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senegal
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 16 | Advance to third round | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Togo
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 8 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | Namibia
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 5 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Congo
|
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | +19 | 18 | Advance to third round | — | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Guinea-Bissau
|
6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 6 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | ||
| 3 | Guinea
|
6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 4 | 1–4 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Sudan
|
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 3 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DR Congo
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 11 | Advance to third round | — | 2–0[a] | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Benin
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 10 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Tanzania
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 8 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | ||
| 4 | Madagascar
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |
The ten group winners from the second round were drawn into five home-and-away ties, with the teams seeded based on FIFA World Rankings. The draw was held on 22 January 2022 in Douala, Cameroon.[19] The lower ranked team played the first leg at home. The winners of each fixture qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt
|
1–1 (1–3 p) | Senegal
|
1–0 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Cameroon
|
2–2 (a) | Algeria
|
0–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Ghana
|
1–1 (a) | Nigeria
|
0–0 | 1–1 |
| DR Congo
|
2–5 | Morocco
|
1–1 | 1–4 |
| Mali
|
0–1 | Tunisia
|
0–1 | 0–0 |
The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearancesinFIFA World Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana |
Third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 3 (2006, 2010, 2014) |
| Senegal |
Third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 2 (2002, 2018) |
| Tunisia |
Third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 5 (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018) |
| Morocco |
Third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 5 (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018) |
| Cameroon |
Third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 7 (1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014) |
There were 362 goals scored in 158 matches, for an average of 2.29 goals per match.
8 goals
5 goals
Ibrahima Koné Ayoub El Kaabi Victorien Adebayor Fashion Sakala4 goals
Dieumerci Mbokani Joseph Mendes Ryan Mmaee Peter Shalulile Victor Osimhen Famara Diédhiou Saimon MsuvaBelow are full goalscorer lists for each round:
