2023_Africa_U-20_Cup_of_Nations
2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
24th edition of U-20 AFCON
The 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Arabic: كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 20 سنة 2023, French: Coupe d'Afrique des nations de football des moins de 20 ans 2023), known as the 2023 U20 AFCON or 2023 AFCON U20 for short and as the 2023 TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, was the 17th edition (24th if editions of the tournament without hosts are included) of the biennial African international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, currently hosted in Egypt from 19 February to 11 March 2023. Senegal won the tournament for the first time, defeating Gambia in the final and did not concede a single goal the entire tournament.[5]
Quick Facts كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 20 سنة 2023, Tournament details ...
| كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 20 سنة 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Egypt |
| Dates | 19 February – 11 March |
| Teams | 12 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Senegal (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Gambia |
| Third place |  Nigeria |
| Fourth place |  Tunisia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 54 (2.08 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Pape Diop (5 goals)[1] |
| Best player(s) | Lamine Camara[2] |
| Best goalkeeper | Landing Badji[3] |
| Fair play award | Nigeria[4] |
← 2021 2025 → | |
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This edition of the tournament also doubles as the African qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina where teams who reached the semi-finals stage qualified automatically and also for the 2023 African Games in Accra, Ghana where teams who reached the quarter-finals stage qualified automatically too.
Ghana were the defending champions following their 4th title win in 2021, but failed to qualify for this edition after losing to Nigeria in the WAFU sub-regional qualification tournament.[6][7]
Main article: 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Player eligibility
Players born 1 January 2003 or later are eligible to participate in the competition.
Qualified teams
The following 12 teams qualified for the group stages:
All appearance statistics count only those since the introduction of the full host-nation tournament in 1991.
More information Team, Zone ...
| Team | Zone | Date of qualification | Appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Egypt (hosts) | North Zone | 16 May 2021 | 12th | 2017 | Champions (1991, 2003, 2013) |
| Tunisia | 24 October 2022 | 2nd | 2021 | Fourth place (2021) | |
 Benin | West B Zone | 17 May 2022 | 3rd | 2013 | Third place (2005) |
| Nigeria | 17 May 2022 | 12th | 2019 | Champions (2005, 2011, 2015) | |
| Senegal | West A Zone | 9 September 2022 | 6th | 2019 | Runners-up (2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Gambia | 9 September 2022 | 4th | 2021 | Third place (2007, 2021) | |
 Central African Republic | Central Zone | 14 December 2022 | 2nd | 2021 | Quarter-finals (2021) |
 Congo | 14 December 2022 | 3rd | 2015 | Champions (2007) | |
 Uganda | Central-East Zone | 8 November 2022 | 2nd | 2021 | Runners-up (2021) |
 South Sudan | 8 November 2022 | 1st | None | Debut | |
 Mozambique | South Zone | 14 October 2022 | 2nd | 2021 | Group stage (2021) |
 Zambia | 14 October 2022 | 8th | 2017 | Champions (2017) |
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More information Cairo, Ismailia ...
| Cairo | Ismailia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo International Stadium | Suez Canal Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 75,000 | Capacity: 22,000 | ||
| Alexandria | |||
| Haras El Hodoud Stadium[8] | Alexandria Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 22,000 | Capacity: 20,000 | ||
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On 18 February 2023, CAF announced a total of 16 referees (including 2 women), 18 assistant referees (including 4 women) and 6 video assistant referees (VAR) appointed for the tournament.[9][10]
Referees
Issa Mouhamed
Hamidou Diero
Mohamed Athoumani
Yannick Kabanga Malala
Clement Franklin Kpan
Mohamed Diraneh Guedi
Mahmoud Ahmed Nagy
Lamin Jammeh
Ahmed Abdulrazg
Sory Ibrahima Keita
Jallal Jayed- Bouchra Karboubi
Omar Abdulkadir Artan
Jean-Claude Ishimwe
El Hadj Amadou Sy
Akhona Makalima
Assistant referees
Hamza Bouzit
Pascal Ndimunzigo
Styven Moutsassi- Yara Atef
- Mohamed Abouzid Sami Halhal
Yehualashet Fasika Biru
Roland Nii Dodoo
Joel Wonka Doe
Dimbiniaina Andriatianarivelo- Fanta Idrissa Kone
- Fatiha Jermoumi
- Soukaina Hamdi
Abdoul Aziz Moctar Saley
Igho Hope
Shaji Padayachy
Omer Hamid Mohamed Ahmed
Jonathan Ahonto Koffi
Mohamed Bakir
Video assistant referees
Elvis Noupoue- Mahmoud Ashour
- Ahmed Elghandour
- Daniel Nii Laryea
Dahane Beida- El Hadj Malick Samba
Further information: 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations squads
The draw for the group stage was held at CAF's headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on 23 December 2022 at 19:00 EST (UTC+2).[11] The 12 teams were drawn into 3 groups of 4 with the teams seeded according to their performance in the previous edition of the tournament. Hosts Egypt automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.
More information Pot 1, Pot 2 ...
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
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The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals along with the two best 3rd-placed teams.
Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 for a win, 1 for a draw and none for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 13).[12]
- 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;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Drawing of lots.
Group A
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senegal |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Egypt (H) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 4 | Mozambique |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 1[lower-alpha 1] |
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Referee: Omar Artan (Somalia)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Ahmed Abdulrazg (Libya)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Jean-Claude Ishimwe (Rwanda)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros)
Referee: Yannick Kabanga Malala (DR Congo)
Group B
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uganda |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Congo |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 3 | South Sudan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Central African Republic |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
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- Drawing of lots: Uganda 1; Congo 2[13]
More information Uganda, 2–1 ...
| Uganda | 2–1 | Central African Republic |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
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Referee: Akhona Makalima (South Africa)
Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia
Referee: Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
More information Central African Republic, 0–1 ...
| Central African Republic | 0–1 | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
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Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia
Referee: Clement Franklin Kpan (Ivory Coast)
More information Congo, 2–2 ...
| Congo | 2–2 | Uganda |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
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Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia
Referee: Lamin Jammeh (Gambia)
Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia
Referee: Issa Mouhamed (Benin)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Hamidou Diero (Burkina Faso)
Group C
More information Pos, Team ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gambia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Benin |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Zambia |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
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Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros)
Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria
Referee: Mohamed Diraneh Guedi (Djibouti)
Referee: El Hadj Amadou Sy (Senegal)
Referee: Mahmoud Ahmed Nagy (Egypt)
Referee: Sory Ibrahima Keita (Mali)
More information Tunisia, 2–1 ...
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Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Omar Artan (Somalia)
Ranking of third-placed teams
More information Pos, Grp ...
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | South Sudan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | C | Benin |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 3 | A | Egypt |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 1 |
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Source: CAF
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 2 March – Cairo | ||||||||||
| Senegal | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 March – Suez | ||||||||||
| Benin | 0 | |||||||||
| Senegal | 3 | |||||||||
| 3 March – Cairo | ||||||||||
| Tunisia | 0 | |||||||||
| Congo | 3 (4) | |||||||||
| 11 March – Cairo | ||||||||||
| Tunisia (p) | 3 (5) | |||||||||
| Senegal | 2 | |||||||||
| 3 March – Alexandria | ||||||||||
| Gambia | 0 | |||||||||
| Gambia | 5 | |||||||||
| 6 March – Cairo | ||||||||||
| South Sudan | 0 | |||||||||
| Gambia | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 March – Suez | ||||||||||
| Nigeria | 0 | Third place | ||||||||
| Uganda | 0 | |||||||||
| 10 March – Cairo | ||||||||||
| Nigeria | 1 | |||||||||
| Tunisia | 0 | |||||||||
| Nigeria | 4 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
Winners qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Referee: Jean-Claude Ishimwe (Rwanda)
Referee: Mahmoud Ahmed Nagy (Egypt)
More information Gambia, 5–0 ...
| Gambia | 5–0 | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
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Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)
More information Congo, 3–3 (a.e.t.) ...
| Congo | 3–3 (a.e.t.) | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
|
| Penalties | ||
|
4–5 |
|
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Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Clement Franklin Kpan (Ivory Coast)
Semi-finals
Referee: Omar Artan (Somalia)
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Ahmed Abdulrazg (Libya)
Third place
More information Tunisia, 0–4 ...
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Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros)
Final
Main article: 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations final
Referee: Mahmoud Ahmed Nagy (Egypt)
There were 54 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 2.08 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
2 goals
- Alagie Saine
- Ibrahim Muhammad
- Jude Sunday
- Lamine Camara
- Pape Amadou Diallo
- Souleymane Faye
Paul America- Jibril Othman
1 goal
- Rodolfo Aloko
Boris Gbenou- Josna Loulendo
- Arnauvy Mombouli
- Prince Soussou
- Mahmodou Bajo
- Kajally Drammeh
- Moses Jarju
- Ahmed Abdullahi
- Solomon Agbalaka
- Samson Lawal
- Mamadou Lamine Camara
- Samba Diallo
- Ibou Sané
- Samy Chouchane
- Mohamed Dhaoui
- Ali Saoudi
John Paul Dembe- Saidi Mayanja
- Isma Mugulusi
- Titus Ssematimba
Kingston Mutandwa- Rickson N'gambi
1 own goal
- Tamimou Ouorou (against the Gambia)
- Ibrahim Juma (against Nigeria)
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:
More information Player of the Tournament, Top Scorer ...
| Player of the Tournament |
|---|
| Lamine Camara[14] |
| Top Scorer |
| Pape Diop[15]
(5 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper |
| Landing Badji[16] |
| Best Coach |
| Malick Daf ( Senegal) |
| CAF Fair Play Team |
| Nigeria[17] |
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Team of the Tournament
More information Goalkeeper, Defenders ...
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing Badji |
|
|
|
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The following teams from CAF qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.[18]
More information Team, Qualified on ...
| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|
| Senegal | 2 March 2023 | 3 (2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Nigeria | 2 March 2023 | 12 (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019) |
| Gambia | 3 March 2023 | 1 (2007) |
| Tunisia | 3 March 2023 | 2 (1977, 1985) |
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- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
The following teams qualified for the 2023 African Games men's football tournament in Accra, Ghana.
More information Team, Qualified on ...
| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in African Games1 |
|---|---|---|
 Ghana |
Host nation | 7 (1973, 1978, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019) |
| Nigeria |
25 February 2023 | 7 (1973, 1978, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2015, 2019) |
| Senegal |
5 (1987, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019) | |
| Congo |
26 February 2023 | 4 (1965, 1973, 1995, 2015) |
| South Sudan |
0 (debut) | |
| Uganda |
4 (1965, 1991, 1999, 2011) | |
| Benin |
27 February 2023 | 0 (debut) |
| Gambia |
0 (debut) | |
| Tunisia |
3 (1987, 1991, 2007) |
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- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
- "Senegal U20 star Pape Diop scoops Umbro Golden Boot award". cafonline.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Camara named TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON best player". cafonline.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Senegal custodian Badji named TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON Best Goalkeeper". cafonline.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Nigeria win TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON Fair Play award". cafonline.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Central Africa Republic and Congo Brazzaville complete TotalEnergies U20 AFCON Egypt 2023 list". CAFOnline.com. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
The TotalEnergies U20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023 will be played between 19 February and 11 March 2023.
- "Nigeria trounce Ghana 2-0 in U20 AFCON qualifying tournament". Vanguard News Nigeria. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- "Nigeria beat Ghana 2-0 in U20 AFCON qualifying tournament". Premium Times Nigeria. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- "TotalEnergies AFCON U20 Organising Committee confirms Alexandria venue switch to Haras El Hodoud Stadium". CAFOnline.com. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- "List of match officials for TotalEnergies U20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023 announced". CAFOnline.com. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- "LIST OF SELECTED REFEREES TO TOTALENERGIES U20 EGYPT 2022" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- "Watch LIVE: AFCON U20 draw here". CAFOnline.com. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- "U-20 AFCON Regulations" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 20 October 2020. p. 27-29. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- "Uganda beats Congo to first place in Group B following drawing of lots". CAFOnline.com. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- "Camara named TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON best player | Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. 11 March 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- "Senegal U20 star Pape Diop scoops Umbro Golden Boot award | Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Confedération Africaine du Football (CAF). 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Senegal custodian Badji named TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON Best Goalkeeper | Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Confedération Africaine du Football (CAF). 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Nigeria win TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON Fair Play award | Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. Confedération Africaine du Football (CAF). 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Tunisia, The Gambia join Nigeria and Senegal in qualifying for Indonesia 2023". FIFA. Retrieved 12 March 2023.