Qualifying Recap: AFRICA

RUNDOWN

Teams Entered in Qualfiying: 52
Spots Allocated by FIFA: 5
Number of Rounds: 3
Number of Matches Played: 152*
Goals Scored: 365
Top Goal-Scorer: Tied-6 Goals; Mohamed Aboutrika (EGY), Mohamed Salah (EGY), Asamoah Gyan (GHA)

African Countries Previously in Cup Finals: 13
Most Appearances: Cameroon (7)
Best Finish: Quarterfinals (Cameroon '90, Senegal '02, Ghana '10)

*-Includes matches later forfeited

INTRODUCTION

African qualifying featured 52 teams broken down in to 3 rounds of competition. The top 28 ranked teams at the time of the World Cup Qualifying Draw in July 2011 received an automatic bye to Round 2. The teams ranked 29-40 in Africa were then drawn against one of the teams ranked 41-52, creating 12 pairings which constituted Round 1. The winners advanced to Round 2 where teams were in 10 groups of 4 teams. The group winners advanced to Round 3 and were re-seeded based on the September 2013 World Rankings. Teams ranked 1-5 were drawn against one of the teams ranked 6-10, with the pairing winners qualifying for the World Cup.

Round 1 (November 2011)

Pot 1 (Seeds 29-40): Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo DR), Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo

Pot 2 (Seeds 41-52): Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland

In this round, 1 team from both Pot 1 and Pot 2 were drawn together for a 2-game home and home playoff. Aggregate score over the 2 games would determine the winner. Ties were to broken by the Away Goals Rule (team with the most goals on the road won). If series were tied after that rule was applied, extra time and penalties would be played if necessary.

Pairings

Kenya 7-0 Seychelles (4-0, 3-0)
Togo 2-1 Guinea-Bissau (1-1, 1-0)
Namibia 8-0 Djibouti (4-0, 4-0)
Liberia def. Mauritius
Mozambique 5-1 Comoros (1-0, 4-1)
Madagascar 2-3 Equatorial Guinea (0-2, 2-1)
Ethiopia 5-0 Somalia (0-0, 5-0)
Burundi 2-3 Lesotho (0-1, 2-2)
Rwanda 4-2 Eritrea (1-1, 3-1)
Congo DR 8-2 Swaziland (3-1, 5-1)
Congo 6-1 Sao Tome and Principe (5-0, 1-1)
Tanzania 2-2 Chad (2-1, 0-1)

Few notable takeaways from this round which was meant to remove the lowest calibre teams from the remainder of qualifying. Of the 12 pairings, only 2 of the teams to advance were from Pot 2 (Equatorial Guinea and Lesotho), and only 2 of the other pairings were decided by 1 goal or less.

Tanzania were the only team to require a tiebreaker this round. They finished tied 2-2 on aggregate with Chad, but Tanzania had 1 more away goal then Chad, sending them through to Round 2.

Biggest surprise of Round 1 was Togo barely qualifying ahead of Guinea-Bissau (2-1 off of a Guinea-Bissau own goal). Previously ranked in the top 50 in the world and a 2006 Finals participant, Togo was expected to ease through this group. Their form in this round proved to be a bad omen for the remainder of qualifying.

 The other surprise was the late withdrawal of Mauritius, days before qualifying was supposed to begin. While Mauritius did not provide a reason for their withdrawal, BBC cited a source saying lack of funds required for the 2 qualifying matches against Liberia was the reason for the withdrawal. Liberia was awarded a win by default, and was advanced to Round 2.

This was not the only occasion in which this occurred in the qualifying campaigns but it is one of my personal pet peeves. This lack of funds was certainly not news to the Mauritius Football Association. Entering and then withdrawing after taints the qualifying system. Had Mauritius not entered at all, Mozambique, by virtue of their ranking would have skipped this round. Instead, Liberia gets advanced and Mozambique was forced to play a Round 1 pairing.

Round 2 (June 2012-September 2013)

Round 2 of African Qualifying consisted of the top 28 ranked teams as of July 2011 as well as the 12 winners from Round 1. Teams were divided in to 10 groups of 4, decided at the World Cup Qualifying Draw. It was pre-determined at the draw which groups the Round 1 Winners would advance to. Format for the groups was a double round-robin. Teams plays all other group opponents twice, once at home and once away.

Group 1

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Ethiopia	4	1	1	8	6	2	13
South Africa	3	1	2	12	5	7	11
Botswana	2	3	1	8	10	-2	7
Central African Republic	1	5	0	5	12	-7	3

 A slight shock in African qualifying, Ethiopia knocked out last tournament's host South Africa, sean as the prohibitive favourite in the group. Ethiopia won the group on the final day, with a come from behind victory against Central African Republic. This group victory came in spite of a forfeited game against Botswana, due to Ethiopia fielding an ineligible player.* A 2-1 victory over South Africa on the second last day of qualifying was the difference in this group. The decider in that game was a second-half own goal from South African Bernard Parker.

Full Results:

Central African Republic 2-0 Botswana
South Africa 1-1 Ethiopia
Botswana 1-1 South Africa
Ethiopia 2-0 Central African Republic
South Africa 2-0 Central African Republic
Ethiopia 1-0 Botswana
Botswana 3-0 Ethiopia (Originally a 2-1 Ethiopia Win)*
Central African Republic 0-3 South Africa
Botswana 3-2 Central African Republic
Ethiopia 2-1 South Africa
South Africa 4-1 Botswana
Central African Republic 1-2 Ethiopia

Group 2

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Tunisia	4	0	2	13	6	7	14
Cape Verde	3	3	0	9	7	2	9
Sierra Leone	2	2	2	10	10	0	8
Equatorial Guinea	0	4	2	6	15	-9	2

The finish of this group was an absolute mess which resulted (rightfully) in Tunisia advancing to Round 3. No less than half of Cape Verde's matches resulted in a forfeit after the games were played, which both put them in contention for the group, and then a group victory away after all the games were played.

Tunisia opened with 3 wins and 2 draws, good enough to top the group with 11 points. This would have been enough to clinch the group at that time, except Cape Verde was awarded a victory over Equatorial Guinea as a result of an ineligible player being fielded. Cape Verde was awarded both games they faced against Equatorial Guinea, however they had legitimately won the second encounter.

On the last day of qualifying, Cape Verde beat Tunisia 2-0 which gave them 12 points and a supposed group victory. This match was subsequently awarded to Tunisia though as Cape Verde had fielded an ineligible player. The player in question, Fernando Varela was given a 4-game suspension in the first game against Equatorial Guinea. Varela sat out 2 games but played in the final match against Tunisia. Cape Verde appealed the forfeit, arguing that FIFA's website had removed the red card from the match report of the first Equatorial Guinea game and they believed Varela was eligible to play. The appeal was denied and Tunisia advanced as a result of the forfeit.

Full Results:

Sierra Leone 2-1 Cape Verde
Tunisia 3-1 Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea 2-2 Sierra Leone
Cape Verde 1-2 Tunisia
Tunisia 2-1 Sierra Leone
Equatorial Guinea 0-3 Cape Verde (Originally a 4-3 Equatorial Guinea Win)
Sierra Leone 2-2 Tunisia
Cape Verde 3-0 Equatorial Guinea (Originally a 2-1 Cape Verde Win)
Cape Verde 1-0 Sierra Leone
Equatorial Guinea 1-1 Tunisia
Sierra Leone 3-2 Equatorial Guinea
Tunisia 3-0 Cape Verde (Originally a 2-0 Cape Verde Win)

Group 3

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Ivory Coast	4	0	2	15	5	10	14
Morocco	2	1	3	9	8	1	9
Tanzania	2	4	0	8	12	-4	6
Gambia	1	4	1	4	11	-7	4

A straightforward group for arguably the best team in Africa right now. Only Morocco was expected to provide a challenge and a pair of early draws as well as a loss to Tanzania allowed Ivory Coast to lock up the group with games to spare.

Full Results:

Gambia 1-1 Morocco
Ivory Coast 2-0 Tanzania
Morocco 2-2 Ivory Coast
Tanzania 2-1 Gambia
Ivory Coast 3-0 Gambia
Tanzania 3-1 Morocco
Gambia 0-3 Ivory Coast
Morocco 2-1 Tanzania
Morocco 2-0 Gambia
Tanzania 2-4 Ivory Coast
Gambia 2-0 Tanzania
Ivory Coast 1-1 Morocco

Group 4

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Ghana	5	1	0	18	3	15	15
Zambia	3	1	2	11	4	7	11
Lesotho	1	3	2	4	15	-11	5
Sudan	0	4	2	3	14	-11	2

Fresh off a 2010 Quarterfinal berth, where Luis Suarez' hand was the main obstacle between them and a semifinal spot, Ghana was the unfortunate top team to draw Zambia, the 2012 African Cup champions in qualifying.

Zambia put a huge scare in to Ghana by beating them early in qualifying, but a pair of draws to the group bottom-feeders sent Zambia to a final-day showdown against Ghana needing a victory with Ghana ahead by 1 point. Goals from Abdul Majeed Waris and Kwadwo Asamoah buried Zambia though and allowed Ghana to escape from one of the toughest qualifying groups in Africa.

Full Results:

Ghana 7-0 Lesotho
Sudan 0-3 Zambia (Originally a 2-0 Sudan Win (ineligible player))
Zambia 1-0 Ghana
Lesotho 0-0 Sudan
Lesotho 1-1 Zambia
Ghana 4-0 Sudan
Sudan 1-3 Ghana
Zambia 4-0 Lesotho
Zambia 1-1 Sudan
Lesotho 0-2 Ghana
Ghana 2-1 Zambia
Sudan 1-3 Lesotho

Group 5

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Burkina Faso	4	2	0	7	4	3	12
Congo	3	1	2	7	3	4	11
Gabon	2	3	1	5	6	-1	7
Niger	1	4	1	6	12	-6	4

Complicated by a pair of forfeited games at the beginning of competition, this was the rare group in which 3 teams had a shot to win the group on the last day of qualifying. Heading in to the last day Congo led the group with 10 points and have last-place Niger to get through. Burkina Faso (9) and Gabon (7) both trailed but could advance with a win over the other and some help from Niger.

A second half goal from Prejuce Nakoulma gave Burkina Faso the 1-0 victory they needed and put them ahead of Congo whose back line let them down against Niger, surrendering 2 goals in a draw and leaving them 1 point shy of the group win. Burkina Faso ended up winning the group despite the early forfeited match. Had the original game results stood, they would have likely only needed a draw against Gabon to clinch the group on the last day.

Full Results:

Burkina Faso 0-3 Congo (Originally a 0-0 Draw (ineligible player))
Niger 3-0 Gabon (Originally a 0-0 Draw (ineligible player))
Congo 1-0 Niger
Gabon 1-0 Burkina Faso
Congo 1-0 Gabon
Burkina Faso 4-0 Niger
Gabon 0-0 Congo
Niger 0-1 Burkina Faso
Congo 0-1 Burkina Faso
Gabon 4-1 Niger
Burkina Faso 1-0 Gabon
Niger 2-2 Congo

Group 6

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Nigeria	3	0	3	7	3	4	12
Malawi	1	1	4	4	5	-1	7
Kenya	1	2	3	4	5	-1	6
Namibia	1	3	2	2	4	-2	5

An unconvincing showing from perennial Cup finalist Nigeria, which saw them tie 3 games (2 on very late equalizers) and win 2 other games with goals in the 80th minute. Nigeria was fortunate to be drawn 2 Round 1 qualifiers and a Malawi team that tied two-thirds of the games they played. Had Nigeria been drawn to Group 4 with Zambia, I'd be writing a very different narrative here. A 2-goal win over Malawi gave Nigeria the group on the final day. This was the only game in the round where Nigeria found the back of the net more than once.

Full Results:

Kenya-Malawi 0-0
Nigeria 1-0 Namibia
Malawi 1-1 Nigeria
Namibia 1-0 Kenya
Nigeria 1-1 Kenya
Namibia 0-1 Malawi
Malawi 0-0 Namibia
Kenya 0-1 Nigeria
Malawi 2-2 Kenya
Namibia 1-1 Nigeria
Nigeria 2-0 Malawi
Kenya 1-0 Namibia

Group 7

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Egypt	6	0	0	16	7	9	18
Guinea	3	2	1	12	8	4	10
Mozambique	0	3	3	2	10	-8	3
Zimbabwe	0	4	2	4	9	-5	2

The only African team to have a perfect second round, Egypt blew through the competition, scoring at least 2 goals in all but 1 game. The only legitimate challenger Guinea lost to Egypt on an injury time goal in their first match, and could never make it up as a draw to Mozambique eliminated them before getting a second crack at Egypt. It wouldn't have mattered. 3 second half-goals made up for an own goal as Egypt knocked off Guinea 4-2 on the final day to secure the perfect round.

 Full Results

Egypt 2-0 Mozambique
Zimbabwe 0-1 Guinea
Mozambique 0-0 Zimbabwe
Guinea 2-3 Egypt
 Mozambique 0-0 Guinea
Egypt 2-1 Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe 2-4 Egypt
Guinea 6-1 Mozambique
Mozambique 0-1 Egypt
Guinea 1-0 Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe 1-1 Mozambique
Egypt 4-2 Guinea

Group 8

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Algeria	5	1	0	13	4	9	15
Mali	2	2	2	7	7	0	8
Benin	2	2	2	8	9	-1	8
Rwanda	0	4	2	3	11	-8	2

People questioned if Algeria was capable of repeating their 2010 Finals appearance. That campaign was seen by some as a fluke and that Algeria would not have what it took to fend off Mali or Benin. While those concerns persisted after an early loss to Mali, Algeria put together a solid performance over the rest of qualifying, winning their last 4 games and clinching the group with a game to spare. Mali and Benin should signs of promise in the campaign but could not put together the dominant results needed to win a group like this (Rwanda's only points came in draws against both teams). Algeria was able to rebound from it's mistake which was ultimately the difference.

Full Results:

Algeria 4-0 Rwanda
Benin 1-0 Mali 
Rwanda 1-1 Benin
Mali 2-1 Algeria
Rwanda 1-2 Mali
Algeria 3-1 Benin
Benin 1-3 Algeria
Mali 1-1 Rwanda
Rwanda 0-1 Algeria
Mali 2-2 Benin
Benin 2-0 Rwanda
Algeria 1-0 Mali

Group 9

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Cameroon	4	1	1	8	3	5	13
Libya	2	1	3	5	3	2	9
Congo DR	1	2	3	3	3	0	6
Togo	1	4	1	4	11	-7	4

Remember Togo? Finalist in '06 that could barely get to this point? Turns out there's a reason. Togo followed up there escape in Round 1 by managing 1 point in their first 3 games. They won the 4th, but it was taken away due to an ineligible player, eliminating them in the process. GREAT SHOWING TOGO!

I had said this was Cameroon's group to lose as the best team on the continent historically, but they would face challenges along the way and sure enough they did. The awarded victory from the Togo game was all that kept them in first place through qualifying and even with those 3 points, they found themselves just 1 point ahead of Libya with a game to go. Aurelien Chedjou was the hero for Cameroon, scoring just before halftime on the last day allowing Cameroon to defeat Libya 1-0 and advance to Round 3. This kept Cameroon in position to make their 7th finals in the past 9 tournaments.

Group 10 

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Points
Senegal	3	0	3	9	4	5	12
Uganda	2	2	2	5	6	-1	8
Angola	1	1	4	7	5	2	7
Liberia	1	4	1	3	9	-6	4

This was supposed to be the most evenly matched group and it didn't disappoint. With 2 games each to go, no team had more then 6 points and no team fewer than 4.

The surprise was Angola, who were expected to contend for the group but drew their first 4 matches, leaving them in a tie for first place. A win in any of those games would have put them in the driver's seat for the group. They only ever led in one though.

Wins by Uganda and Senegal on the 5th matchday eliminated the other two and left them with a head-to-head matchup for the group. Senegal, who only needed a draw to advance sweated out a 0-0 game until the 85th minute when Sadio Mane scored for them to lock up a 1-0 win and the group for Senegal.

Full Results:

Senegal 3-1 Liberia
Angola 1-1 Uganda
Uganda 1-1 Senegal
Liberia 0-0 Angola
Senegal 1-1 Angola
Liberia 2-0 Uganda
Uganda 1-0 Liberia
Angola 1-1 Senegal
Uganda 2-1 Angola
Liberia 0-2 Senegal
Angola 3-0 Liberia (Originally a 4-1 Angola win (ineligible player))
Senegal 1-0 Uganda

Round 3 (October 2013-November 2013)


The 10 group winners from Round 2 advanced to Round 3 and played a 2-game aggregate score playoff. The winner of each pairing qualified for the World Cup Finals. One team from Pot 1 was drawn against a team from Pot 2 to create the pairings. Seeds were determined by the September 2013 World Ranking.

Pot 1 (Seeds 1-5): Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Tunisia

Pot 2 (Seeds 6-10): Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal

Pairings

Ivory Coast 4-2 Senegal (3-1, 1-1)
Nigeria 4-1 Ethiopia (2-1, 2-0)
Tunisia 1-4 Cameroon (0-0, 1-4)
Ghana 7-3 Egypt (6-1, 1-2)
Algeria 3-3 Burkina Faso (2-3, 1-0)

Ivory Coast surprised no one by qualifying but gave themselves a bit of a scare along the way. After a 3-1 home win in the first leg, Moussa Sow's goal for Senegal pulled them to within 1 goal with 20 minutes to go. Because of the away goals rule, a 2-0 win would put Senegal through. Ivory Coast held on though and late in injury time, Salomon Kalou found the back of the net to restore the 2-goal advantage and clinch qualification for the Ivorians.

Despite falling behind in their first match, Nigeria managed to pull out a 2-1 victory on the road on the strength of 2 second-half goals from Emmanuel Emenike. Nigeria added 2 more at home in the second leg for good measure and comfortably advanced past upstart Ethiopia, the lowest ranked team in the round.

A poor string of international results bumped Cameroon to Pot 2, and Tunisia were the unfortunate team to draw them this round. A 0-0 draw in Tunisia sent the game to Cameroon with things wide open. A pair of Cameroon goals in the first half of the second leg looked to clinch qualification for them. Ahmed Akaichi scored early in the second half to give Tunisia hope as they could advance with a draw, but Cameroon scored 15 minutes later and added an extra for good measure, sending them to Brazil with a decisive 4-1 win.

In a massive disappointment, Egypt got steamrolled by Ghana in the first leg, losing by a score of 6-1 and effectively eliminating themselves from any chance of qualifying. Expected to do great things, as one of the top teams in Africa and having been perfect in Round 2, Egypt could not handle the Ghanaian onslaught and once again misses out on the World Cup finals.

Algeria and Burkina Faso provided the most drama of the round in what was the most even pairing of the round. A wild first leg saw four second-half goals and Burkina Faso claiming a 1-goal lead on a late penalty. With two away goals though, Algeria could afford to tie on aggregate and advance from the second leg. A Madjid Bougherra second-half goal in the second leg gave Algeria all they needed and they hung on to qualify for the finals. Burkina Faso protested, claiming that Bougherra was ineligible due to his actions during the first leg of the round. Bougherra was never formally suspended though, and Burkina Faso's protest was denied.

Qualifiers


Algeria: 4th Finals Appearance (2nd consecutive). Has never advanced past the group stage. World Ranking: 25th
Cameroon: 7th Finals Appearance (2nd consecutive). Reached quarterfinals in 1990. Hasn't advanced past group stage in any other tournament. World Ranking: 50th
Ghana: 3rd Finals Appearance (3rd consecutive). Has advanced past group stage both times (Round of 16 in '06, Quarterfinals in '10). World Ranking: 38th
Ivory Coast: 3rd Finals Appearance (3rd consecutive). Has never advanced past the group stage. World Ranking: 21st
Nigeria: 5th Finals Appearance (2nd consecutive). Made Round of 16 in '98 and '02. Group stage in '02 and '10. World Ranking: 44th

These 5 teams are the same that qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. South Africa qualified automatically for that tournament as host.