2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round

The preliminary round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament decided four teams which advanced to the group stage of the qualification tournament. The preliminary round consisted of the eight lowest-ranked teams among the 52 entrants: Liberia, Mauritius, Gambia, South Sudan, Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, and Djibouti.^[1]

2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round

Tournament details
Dates	9 October 2019 – 13 October 2019
Teams	8 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	8
Goals scored	17 (2.13 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Luís Leal (3 goals)
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The eight teams were drawn into four ties and played in home-and-away two-legged format. The four winners advanced to the group stage to join the 44 teams which entered directly.

The first legs were played on 9 October, and the second legs were played on 13 October 2019.^[2]

Matches

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Liberia	1–1 (4–5 p)	Chad	1–0	0–1
South Sudan	3–1	Seychelles	2–1	1–0
Mauritius	2–5	São Tomé and Príncipe	1–3	1–2
Djibouti	2–2 (2–3 p)	Gambia	1–1	1–1

9 October 2019 (2019-10-09)

16:00 UTC+0

Liberia	1–0	Chad
Sherman 43'	Report

Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Paynesville

Referee: Gilberto Antonio dos Santos (Guinea-Bissau)

13 October 2019 (2019-10-13)

14:00 UTC+1

Chad	1–0	Liberia
N'Douassel 54'	Report
Penalties
N'Douassel Djibrine Djimet Barthélémy Ninga Ambassa	5–4	Nimely Saygbe Njie Sherman Dorley Swen

Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya, N'Djamena

Referee: Santillan Costa dos Santos (São Tomé and Príncipe)

1–1 on aggregate. Chad won 5–4 on penalties and advanced to qualification Group A.

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9 October 2019 (2019-10-09)

16:00 UTC+2

South Sudan	2–1	Seychelles
Thok 20' Kuch 44'	Report	Hoareau 12'

Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman (Sudan)^{[note 1]}

Referee: Emmanuel Mwandembwa (Tanzania)

13 October 2019 (2019-10-13)

16:00 UTC+4

Seychelles	0–1	South Sudan
	Report	Kuch 72'

Stade Linité, Victoria

Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros)

South Sudan won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to qualification Group B.

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9 October 2019 (2019-10-09)

17:00 UTC+4

Mauritius	1–3	São Tomé and Príncipe
Perticots 40'	Report	Leal 45', 60' Silva 65'

Anjalay Stadium, Belle Vue Harel

Referee: Ibrahim Tsimanohitsy (Madagascar)

13 October 2019 (2019-10-13)

16:00 UTC+0

São Tomé and Príncipe	2–1	Mauritius
Barbeiro 11' Leal 27'	Report	Nazira 45' (pen.)

Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho, São Tomé

Referee: Prince Arcy Dongombe (Central African Republic)

São Tomé and Príncipe won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to qualification Group C.

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9 October 2019 (2019-10-09)

19:00 UTC+3

Djibouti	1–1	Gambia
Mbye 59' (o.g.)	Report	Sanneh 90'

El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium, Djibouti

Referee: Ibrahim Nour El Din (Egypt)

13 October 2019 (2019-10-13)

16:00 UTC+0

Gambia	1–1	Djibouti
Jallow 45+3'	Report	Mahabeh 10' (pen.)
Penalties
Barrow Colley Ceesay Ngum Jallow	3–2	Siad Ahmed Mahabeh Moussa

Independence Stadium, Bakau

Referee: Mahamadou Keita (Mali)

2–2 on aggregate. Gambia won 3–2 on penalties and advanced to qualification Group D.

Goalscorers

There were 17 goals scored in 8 matches, for an average of 2.12 goals per match.

3 goals

• Luís Leal

2 goals

• Joseph Kuch

1 goal

• Ezechiel N'Douassel
• Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh
• Ablie Jallow
• Bubacarr Sanneh
• Kpah Sherman
• Ashley Nazira
• Kevin Perticots
• Marcos Barbeiro
• Ludgério Silva
• Nigel Hoareau
• Koang Thok

1 own goal

• Mohammed Mbye (against Djibouti)

Notes

1. South Sudan played their home match this round in Sudan due to their national stadium currently undergoing renovations.