This article details the qualification schedule and matches for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of 8 teams, including automatically qualified hosts Morocco, qualified to play in the group stages of this edition of the tournament, which also doubled as the first stage of the African qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in France.
Teams
Apart from Morocco, the remaining 53 CAF members were eligible to enter qualification and a total of 38 national teams entered its draw which was announced on 18 August 2022. Eighteen best teams from the previous edition and its qualification procedures were given a bye to the second round.
Did not enter
Format
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away, two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, away goals rule was applied and if still tied, penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to determine the winner.
Schedule
All matches were played during the FIFA International Window and its schedules were as follows:
First round
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Niger won 4–2 on aggregate.
Tanzania won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Eswatini won 3–2 on aggregate.
Togo won 2–1 on aggregate.
DR Congo won 1–0 on aggregate, but later got disqualified and had its result forfeited for fielding ineligible players. Although Ethiopia advanced to the final round, they chose not to compete and thus Algeria advanced in their place.
Mozambique won 5–1 on aggregate.
Burkina Faso won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Rwanda won 4–4 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Madagascar won 12–1 on aggregate.
Angola won 8–1 on aggregate.
Second round
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Niger won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Sudan won 3–3 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.
Egypt won 1–0 on aggregate.
Zambia won 2–1 on aggregate.
South Africa on 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Conogo won 2–2 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
DR Congo won 5–4 on aggregate but was later disqualified, thus Algeria advanced to the final round.
Ghana won 4–1 on aggregate.
Senegal won 5–3 on penalties and advanced to the final round.
Mali won 2–1 on aggregate.
Gabon won 5–0 on aggregate.
Cameroon won 3–2 on aggregate.
Third round
Winners qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
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Niger won 2–1 on aggregate.
Guinea won 2–0 on aggregate.
Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.
Congo won 1–1 on aggregate via the away goals rule.
Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate.
Mali won 4–3 on aggregate.
Gabon won 7–6 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on aggregate.
Qualified teams
The following eight teams qualified for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.