2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

Tournament details
Dates	7 October 2015 – 14 November 2017
Teams	54 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	66
Goals scored	165 (2.5 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Islam Slimani Fiston Abdul Razak William Jebor Moussa Maâzou (4 goals each)

The African section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification act as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). A total of 5 slots in the final tournament are available for CAF teams.^[1]

The CAF Executive Committee approved the format for the qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 14 January 2015,^[2] with three preliminary rounds before a final group stage featuring 20 teams. The number of preliminary rounds was reduced to two, based on information provided by FIFA in early July 2015.^[3][4]

Format

The qualification structure is as follows:^[4][5]

• First round: A total of 26 teams (teams ranked 28–53) will play home-and-away over two legs. The 13 winners will advance to the second round.
• Second round: A total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–27 and 13 first round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The 20 winners will advance to the third round.
• Third round: The 20 teams which advance from the second round will be divided into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Entrants

All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification.^[6] However, Zimbabwe were expelled from the competition on 12 March 2015 due to their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee,^[7] a decision that the Zimbabwe Football Association said they would appeal.^[8]

The July 2015 FIFA Ranking were used to seed the teams for the first two rounds, both of which will be drawn in Russia on 25 July 2015.^[4] (World rankings shown in brackets)^[9]

From the July 2015 FIFA World Rankings^[9]

Bye to second round (Ranked 1st to 27th)		Competing in first round (Ranked 28th to 53rd)
Algeria (19)  Ivory Coast (21)  Ghana (25)  Tunisia (32)  Senegal (39)  Cameroon (42)  Congo (47)  Cape Verde (52)  Egypt (55)  Nigeria (57)  Guinea (58)  DR Congo (60)  Mali (61)  Equatorial Guinea (63)	Gabon (65)  South Africa (70)  Zambia (71)  Burkina Faso (72)  Uganda (73)  Rwanda (78)  Togo (83)  Morocco (84)  Sudan (90)  Angola (92)  Mozambique (95)  Benin (96)  Libya (96)	Niger (96)  Ethiopia (101)  Malawi (108)  Sierra Leone (111)  Namibia (112)  Kenya (114)  Botswana (120)  Madagascar (122)  Mauritania (128)  Burundi (131)  Lesotho (131)  Guinea-Bissau (133)  Swaziland (138)	Tanzania (139)  Gambia (143)  Liberia (161)  Central African Republic (170)  Chad (173)  Mauritius (180)  Seychelles (186)  Comoros (187)  São Tomé and Príncipe (189)  South Sudan (195)  Eritrea (204)  Somalia (205)  Djibouti (207)

Note: Niger had to enter the first round as they had fewer FIFA ranking points (345.31) than Benin (345.46) and Libya (345.35). In the FIFA World Rankings, teams share the same ranking if their ranking points round to the same whole number.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.^[10]

Round Matchday Date First round First leg 5–13 October 2015 Second leg Second round First leg 9–17 November 2015 Second leg

Round Matchday Date Third round Matchday 1 3–11 October 2016 Matchday 2 7–15 November 2016 Matchday 3 28 August – 5 September 2017 Matchday 4 Matchday 5 2–10 October 2017 Matchday 6 6–14 November 2017

First round

The draw for the first round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[11]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Somalia	0–6	Niger	0–2	0–4
South Sudan	1–5	Mauritania	1–1	0–4
Gambia	2–3	Namibia	1–1	1–2
São Tomé and Príncipe	1–3	Ethiopia	1–0	0–3
Chad	2–2 (a)	Sierra Leone	1–0	1–2
Comoros	1–1 (a)	Lesotho	0–0	1–1
Djibouti	1–8	Swaziland	0–6	1–2
Eritrea	1–5	Botswana	0–2	1–3
Seychelles	0–3	Burundi	0–1	0–2
Liberia	4–2	Guinea-Bissau	1–1	3–1
Central African Republic	2–5	Madagascar	0–3	2–2
Mauritius	2–5	Kenya	2–5	0–0
Tanzania	2–1	Malawi	2–0	0–1

Second round

The draw for the second round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[11]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Niger	0–3	Cameroon	0–3	0–0
Mauritania	2–4	Tunisia	1–2	1–2
Namibia	0–3	Guinea	0–1	0–2
Ethiopia	4–6	Congo	3–4	1–2
Chad	1–4	Egypt	1–0	0–4
Comoros	0–2	Ghana	0–0	0–2
Swaziland	0–2	Nigeria	0–0	0–2
Botswana	2–3	Mali	2–1	0–2
Burundi	2–6	DR Congo	2–3	0–3[note 1]
Liberia	0–4	Ivory Coast	0–1	0–3
Madagascar	2–5	Senegal	2–2	0–3
Kenya	1–2	Cape Verde	1–0	0–2
Tanzania	2–9	Algeria	2–2	0–7
Sudan	0–3	Zambia	0–1	0–2
Libya	4–1	Rwanda	1–0	3–1
Morocco	2–1	Equatorial Guinea	2–0	0–1
Mozambique	1–1 (3–4 p)	Gabon	1–0	0–1 (a.e.t.)
Benin	2–3	Burkina Faso	2–1	0–2
Togo	0–4	Uganda	0–1	0–3
Angola	1–4	South Africa	1–3	0–1

Third round

The draw for the third round will be held on 24 June 2016 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.^[13]

Groups

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers

In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[14] Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss) Goal difference Goals scored Points in matches between tied teams Goal difference in matches between tied teams Goals scored in matches between tied teams Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams) Play-off match(es) on neutral ground (if approved by FIFA Organizing Committee), with extra time and penalty shoot-out if necessary

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		A1	A2	A3	A4
1	Team A1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
1	Team A2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	—	TBD	TBD
1	Team A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
1	Team A4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		B1	B2	B3	B4
1	Team B1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
1	Team B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	—	TBD	TBD
1	Team B3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
1	Team B4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		C1	C2	C3	C4
1	Team C1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
1	Team C2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	—	TBD	TBD
1	Team C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
1	Team C4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		D1	D2	D3	D4
1	Team D1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
1	Team D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	—	TBD	TBD
1	Team D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
1	Team D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		E1	E2	E3	E4
1	Team E1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
1	Team E2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	—	TBD	TBD
1	Team E3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
1	Team E4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Goalscorers

As of all matches played on 17 November 2015

Note: Players in bold are still active in the competition.

4 goals

• Islam Slimani
• Fiston Abdul Razak
• William Jebor
• Moussa Maâzou

3 goals

• Joel Mogorosi
• Sandile Hlatjwako
• Farouk Miya

2 goals

• Faouzi Ghoulam
• Mogakolodi Ngele
• Cédric Amissi
• Héldon Ramos
• Léger Djimrangar
• Thievy Bifouma
• Yannick Bolasie
• Firmin Ndombe Mubele
• Ahmed Hassan Mahgoub
• Dawit Fekadu
• Getaneh Kebede
• Naby Keïta
• Giovanni Sio
• Michael Olunga
• Johanna Omolo
• Mohamed El Monir
• Njiva Rakotoharimalala
• Boubacar Bagili
• Cheikh Moulaye Ahmed
• Willy Stephanus
• Mahamane Cissé
• Mame Biram Diouf
• Mbwana Samatta
• Winston Kalengo

1 goal

• Yacine Brahimi
• Riyad Mahrez
• Carl Medjani
• Gelson
• Bello Babatounde
• Stéphane Sessègnon
• Tapiwa Gadibolae
• Galabgwe Moyana
• Préjuce Nakoulma
• Jonathan Pitroipa
• Bertrand Traoré
• Vincent Aboubakar
• Stéphane Mbia
• Edgar Salli
• Eudes Dagoulou
• Junior Gourrier
• Ezechiel N'Douassel
• Mohamed M'Changama
• Hardy Binguila
• Delvin N'Dinga
• Francis N'Ganga
• Fabrice Ondama
• Michaël Nkololo
• Mohamed Liban
• Mohamed Elneny
• Abdallah Said
• Rui
• Henok Goitom
• Ramkel Lok
• Gatoch Panom
• Shimelis Bekele
• Malick Evouna
• Pa Dibba
• Abdou Jammeh
• Jordan Ayew
• Wakaso Mubarak
• Idrissa Sylla
• Amido Baldé
• Ibraime Cassamá
• Gohi Bi Zoro Cyriac
• Jean Seri
• Ayub Masika
• Haron Shakava
• Tsepo Seturumane
• Faisal Al Badri
• Mohamed Al Ghanodi
• Abel Andrianantenaina
• Faneva Imà Andriatsima
• Johann Paul
• Michael Rabeson
• Falimery Ramanamahefa
• John Banda
• Cheick Diabaté
• Bakary Sako
• Samba Sow
• Ismaël Diakité
• Oumar N'Diaye
• Moussa Samba
• Jonathan Bru
• Andy Sophie
• Yacine Bammou
• Youssef El-Arabi
• Hélder Pelembe
• Hendrik Somaeb
• Efe Ambrose
• Moses Simon
• Jacques Tuyisenge
• Luís Leal
• Moussa Konaté
• Cheikhou Kouyaté
• Sadio Mané
• Alhaji Kamara
• Abdul Sesay
• Thamsanqa Gabuza
• Andile Jali
• Tokelo Rantie
• Dominic Abui Pretino
• Muzi Dlamini
• Mxolisi Lukhele
• Mthunzi Mkhontfo
• Sabelo Ndzinisa
• Tony Tsabedze
• Elias Maguri
• Thomas Ulimwengu
• Syam Ben Youssef
• Saad Bguir
• Yassine Chikhaoui
• Wahbi Khazri
• Geofrey Massa
• Lubambo Musonda

1 own goal

• Manucho Diniz (playing against South Africa)
• Dieumerci Mbokani (playing against Burundi)

Notes

1. FIFA awarded Congo DR a 3–0 win as a result of Burundi fielding the ineligible player Gaël Bigirimana.^[12] The match originally ended 2–2.

References

1. "Current allocation of FIFA World Cupâ„¢ confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015.
2. "FORMAT OF 2017 AFCON QUALIFIERS AND 2018 WORLD CUP". CAFonline.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
3. "Statistical Kit for the Preliminary Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. 3 July 2015. p. 11. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
4. "Preliminary Draw procedures outlined". fifa.com. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
5. "Draw Procedures – African Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com.
6. "Road to Russia with new milestone". FIFA.com. 15 January 2015.
7. "Zimbabwe expelled from the preliminary competition of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia". FIFA.com. 12 March 2015.
8. "Zimbabwe expelled from 2018 World Cup". BBC Sport. 12 March 2015.
9. "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – July 2015 (CAF)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
10. "CAF Calendar - CAF Calendar of Events and Meetings 2015". cafonline.com. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
11. "Results of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Preliminary Draw". CAF. 25 July 2015.
12. "DISCIPLINARY OVERVIEW – 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA™ QUALIFIERS" (PDF). FIFA. 1 February 2016.
13. "June draw for third round of African Zone qualifiers". FIFA.com. 20 November 2015.
14. "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com.

External links

• Official FIFA World Cup website
  • Qualifiers – Africa, FIFA.com
• 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Qualifiers, CAFonline.com