2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations will be the 4th edition of the quadrennial African football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for its male national teams consisting of players under 23 years of age. It will be hosted by Morocco between 24 June and 8 July 2023.[1][2][3]

2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
كأس الأمم الأفريقية تحت 23 سنة 2023
Tournament details
Host countryMorocco
Dates24 June – 8 July
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)

The finalists and the winning semi-finalist of this edition of the tournament will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympic men's football tournament in Paris while the 4th-placed team will play the AFC–CAF playoff to decide the final slot at the Olympics.

Egypt are the defending champions.

Qualification
Main article: 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Morocco qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining 7 spots were determined by the qualifying rounds.

Qualified teams

The following 8 teams qualified for the main tournament.

Team Date of qualification Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
 Morocco (hosts)7 July 20222nd2011Runners-up (2011)
 Egypt　26 March 20234th2019Champions (2019)
 Congo27 March 20231stNoneDebut
 Gabon　28 March 20232nd2011Champions (2011)
 Ghana28 March 20232nd2019Fourth place (2019)
 Guinea　28 March 20231stNoneDebut
 Mali　28 March 20233rd2019Group stage (2015, 2019)
 Niger　28 March 20231stNoneDebut

Venues

The matches will be contested at two venues; the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier and the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

Tangier Rabat
Ibn Batouta Stadium Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Capacity: 65,000 Capacity: 53,000

Draw

The draw for this edition of the tournament was held on 5 May 2023 at 17:00 CET (UTC+1) at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé. The 8 qualified teams were drawn into two groups of four teams, with hosts Morocco seeded in Group A (position A1) and the defending champions Egypt seeded in Group B (position B1). The remaining 6 teams were allocated to two pots based on the results of the previous tournament edition and were drawn to the remaining positions.

Seeds Pot 1 Pot 2

Group stage

The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points; 3 for a win, 1 for a draw and none for a loss. If tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied in the order given to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 68):[4]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. 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;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Drawing of lots.

All times are local, CAT (UTC+2).

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Morocco (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Ghana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Congo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 24 June 2023. Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host
Morocco v Guinea
Ghana v Congo
Morocco v Ghana
Congo v Guinea
Congo v Morocco
Guinea v Ghana

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Mali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Gabon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Niger 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 25 June 2023. Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Egypt v Niger
Mali v Gabon
Egypt v Mali
Gabon v Niger
Gabon v Egypt
Niger v Mali

Knockout stage

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
 
 Winner Group A
 
 
 
 Runner-up Group B
 
 Winner Semi-final 1
 
 
 
 Winner Semi-final 2
 
 Winner Group B
 
 
 Runner-up Group A
 
Third-place match
 
 
 
 
 
 Loser Semi-final 1
 
 
 Loser Semi-final 2

Semi-finals

The winners will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Winner Group AvRunner-up Group B
Winner Group BvRunner-up Group A

Third-place match

The winner will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and the loser will play in the AFC–CAF play-off.

Loser Semi-final 1vLoser Semi-final 2

Final
Winner Semi-final 1vWinner Semi-final 2

Qualified teams for the 2024 Summer Olympics

The following 3 teams from CAF qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympic men's football tournament.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in Summer Olympics
　
　
　

References
  1. Latrech, Oumaima (7 July 2022). "Morocco to Host U23 AFCON Tournament in 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  2. "CAF unveils the host country of the AFCON U-23 2023". AfrikPage. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  3. "Hosts Morocco get Ghana, Congo and Guinea at TotalEnergies U23 AFCON draw". CAF. 5 May 2023.
  4. "Regulations of the U–23 Africa Cup of Nations" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

Official website


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