# 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-20 football competition which decided the participating teams for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.
Players born 1 January 2001 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of twelve teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Mauritania who qualified automatically as hosts.

## Teams

47 of the 54 CAF members entered the qualifying tournament of their zone, including the hosts Mauritania, which also participated in qualification despite automatically qualified for the final tournament.
This was the first edition in Africa U-20 Cup of Nations to have expanded to 12 teams instead of eight. Each of the six zones received two spots in the final tournament.
| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
| North Zone (UNAF) | 2 spot | Algeria  Egypt  Libya  Morocco  Tunisia (H) | |
| West A Zone (WAFU-UFOA A) | 1 spot + hosts | Gambia  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Mali  Mauritania (Q)  Senegal (H)  Sierra Leone | Cape Verde  Liberia |
| West B Zone (WAFU-UFOA B) | 2 spots | Benin (H)  Burkina Faso  Ghana  Ivory Coast  Niger  Nigeria  Togo | |
| Central Zone (UNIFFAC) | 2 spots | Cameroon  Central African Republic  Chad  Congo  DR Congo  Equatorial Guinea (H) | Gabon  São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Central-East Zone (CECAFA) | 2 spots | Burundi  Djibouti  Eritrea  Ethiopia  Kenya  Rwanda  Somalia  South Sudan  Sudan  Tanzania (H)  Uganda | |
| South Zone (COSAFA) | 2 spots | Angola  Botswana  Comoros  Eswatini  Lesotho  Malawi  Mozambique  Namibia  South Africa (H)  Zambia  Zimbabwe | Madagascar  Mauritius  Seychelles |

### Notes

* Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
* (H): Qualifying tournament hosts
* (Q): Automatically qualified for final tournament regardless of qualification results

## Schedule

The qualifying competition was split into regional competitions, with the teams entering the qualifying tournament of their zone. The final arrangements of the zonal qualifiers were decided later due to the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The schedule of each qualifying zone was as follows.
| Zone | Group stage | Knockout stage |
| West A Zone | 20–25 November 2020 | 27–29 November 2020 |
| Central-East Zone | 22–27 November 2020 | 30 November–2 December 2020 |
| Originally set to be played at the beginning of October/November 2020 in Sudan ||
| South Zone | 3–9 December 2020 | 11–13 December 2020 |
| Originally set to be played in Mauritius in the same time period ||
| West B Zone | 5–12 December 2020 | 15–19 December 2020 |
| Originally from 12 to 26 September 2020 in Burkina Faso ||
| Central Zone | 15–19 December 2020 | 22 December 2020 |
| Postponed, originally set to be played at the beginning of/mid October 2020 ||
| North Zone | 15–27 December 2020 | — |

## North Zone

Tunisia hosted the 2020 UNAF U-20 Tournament, which also served as the qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, between 15 and 27 December 2020. The matches were played at Radès (Stade Olympique de Radès) and Tunis (Stade El Menzah).
The draw for the fixtures was held on 30 November 2020. The five teams were placed in one group, with the winners and the runners-up qualifying for the final tournament.
All times are local, CET (UTC+1).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Morocco | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Tunisia (H) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations |
| 3 | Libya | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Algeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
| 5 | Egypt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
* ↑ On 19 December 2020, Egypt were forced to withdraw from the competition after they were unable to play their first two matches due to a number of players testing positive for the SARS-2 coronavirus. After their withdrawal from the competition, Egypt's results were deleted from the calculations of the final group rankings.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000001F-QINU`"''"`UNIQ--ref-00000020-QINU`"'

## West A Zone

Senegal hosted the WAFU-UFOA Zone A U-20 Championship between 20 and 29 November 2020. The matches were played at Thiès (Stade Lat-Dior) and Pikine (Stade Al Djigo).
All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).

### Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 6 November 2020. The seven teams were drawn into two groups of three and four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Senegal (H) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Gambia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 1 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Guinea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Guinea-Bissau | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Mali | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Mauritania | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 27 November – Thiès | 27 November – Thiès |
| Guinea | 1 |
| Guinea | 1 | 29 November – Thiès | 29 November – Thiès |
| Gambia | 2 | 29 November – Thiès | 29 November – Thiès |
| Gambia | 2 | Gambia (p) | 2 (4) |
| 27 November – Thiès | 27 November – Thiès | | Gambia (p) | 2 (4) |
| 27 November – Thiès | 27 November – Thiès | Senegal | 2 (3) |
| Senegal (p) | 0 (5) | Senegal | 2 (3) |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0 (4) | | |

#### Final

Winner qualified for 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.

## West B Zone

The WAFU-UFOA Zone B qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were initially planned to be hosted by Burkina Faso, but were later shifted to Togo due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the matches scheduled to be played between 18 November–2 December. On 7 November, Togo announced that they would not be able to host the tournament due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country, with the outbreak located in the Lomé area.
On 17 November, it was announced that the regional qualifiers would now be played in Benin between 5 and 19 December. The draw was also announced on the same day. The matches were played at Porto-Novo (Stade Charles de Gaulle) and Cotonou (Stade René Pleven).
All times are local, WAT (UTC+1).

### Group stage

The seven teams were drawn into two groups of three and four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Niger | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Benin (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Togo | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Ghana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Nigeria | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 15 December – Stade de Gaulle | 15 December – Stade de Gaulle |
| Niger | 0 (3) |
| Niger | 0 (3) | 19 December – Stade de Gaulle | 19 December – Stade de Gaulle |
| Ghana (p) | 0 (5) | 19 December – Stade de Gaulle | 19 December – Stade de Gaulle |
| Ghana (p) | 0 (5) | Ghana | 2 |
| 15 December – Stade de Gaulle | 15 December – Stade de Gaulle | | Ghana | 2 |
| 15 December – Stade de Gaulle | 15 December – Stade de Gaulle | Burkina Faso | 1 |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | Burkina Faso | 1 |
| Burkina Faso | 4 | | |
| Burkina Faso | 4 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 18 December – Stade de Gaulle | 18 December – Stade de Gaulle |
| | | Niger | 0 |
| | | Ivory Coast | 2 |

#### Semi-finals

Winners qualified for 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.

#### Final
## Central Zone

The UNIFFAC qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were held in Equatorial Guinea between 15 and 22 December 2020. The matches were played at Malabo (Estadio de Malabo).
All times are local, WAT (UTC+1).

### Group stage

The six teams were drawn into two groups of three teams. The winners of each group qualified for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Central African Republic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | Final and 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Equatorial Guinea (H) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | |
| 3 | Chad | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cameroon | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Final and 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Congo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 3 | DR Congo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 1 | |

### Final
## Central-East Zone

The CECAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were initially planned to be hosted by Sudan in October–November 2020 but were then later shifted and held in Tanzania between 22 November–2 December 2020. The matches were played at Karatu (Black Rhino Academy) and Arusha (Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium).
All times are local, EAT (UTC+3).

### Group stage

All the 11 teams were drawn into 3 groups, 2 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams. The winners of each group and the best runners-up advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Tanzania (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Djibouti | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |
| 3 | Somalia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | |
| 4 | Rwanda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
* ↑ On 14 November 2020, Rwanda withdrew from the qualifiers after discussions between their sports ministry and the education ministry. The statement issued read that "Since after a long time in break due to the COVID-19, schools have just reopened and the students can't miss the school for the competition. Most of the U-20 players are students who need to be in school."'"`UNIQ--ref-0000019C-QINU`"'

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Uganda | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | South Sudan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Burundi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |
| 4 | Eritrea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |

#### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Kenya | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Sudan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 0 | |

#### Ranking of second-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | B | South Sudan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | C | Ethiopia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 3 | A | Djibouti | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 30 November – Karatu | 30 November – Karatu |
| Uganda | 3 |
| Uganda | 3 | 2 December – Karatu | 2 December – Karatu |
| Kenya | 1 | 2 December – Karatu | 2 December – Karatu |
| Kenya | 1 | Uganda | 4 |
| 30 November – Karatu | 30 November – Karatu | | Uganda | 4 |
| 30 November – Karatu | 30 November – Karatu | Tanzania | 1 |
| Tanzania | 1 | Tanzania | 1 |
| South Sudan | 0 | | |
| South Sudan | 0 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 2 December – Karatu | 2 December – Karatu |
| | | Kenya | 1 |
| | | South Sudan | 2 |

#### Semi-finals

Winners qualified for 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.

#### Final
## South Zone

The COSAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were initially planned to be hosted by Mauritius, but were later shifted to South Africa after Mauritius withdrew as hosts due to the COVID-19 regulations. The matches were played at Port Elizabeth (Wolfson Stadium, Gelvandale Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium).
All times are local, SAST (UTC+2).

### Group stage

The group stage was played in 3 groups as a round-robin, where the group winners and the best runner up advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mozambique | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | South Africa (H) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 5 | |
| 3 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Lesotho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Zambia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Namibia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Malawi | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Comoros | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | |

#### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Angola | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Eswatini | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Botswana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 3 | |

#### Ranking of second-placed teams

Due to groups having a different number of teams, the results against the fourth-placed teams in four-team groups were not considered for this ranking.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | B | Namibia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | C | Eswatini | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | A | South Africa | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 11 December – Wolfson Stadium | 11 December – Wolfson Stadium |
| Angola | 0 |
| Angola | 0 | 13 December – Nelson Mandela Bay | 13 December – Nelson Mandela Bay |
| Namibia | 1 | 13 December – Nelson Mandela Bay | 13 December – Nelson Mandela Bay |
| Namibia | 1 | Namibia | 0 |
| 11 December – Wolfson Stadium | 11 December – Wolfson Stadium | | Namibia | 0 |
| 11 December – Wolfson Stadium | 11 December – Wolfson Stadium | Mozambique | 1 |
| Mozambique | 0 (5) | Mozambique | 1 |
| Zambia | 0 (4) | | |
| Zambia | 0 (4) | Third place | Third place |
| | | 13 December – Nelson Mandela Bay | 13 December – Nelson Mandela Bay |
| | | Angola | 2 |
| | | Zambia | 1 |

#### Semi-finals

Winners qualified for 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.

#### Final
## Qualified teams

The following 12 teams qualify for the final tournament.
| Team | Zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in Africa U-20 Cup of Nations only final tournament era (since 1991) |
| Mauritania (hosts) | West A Zone | 28 September 2018 | 0 (debut) |
| Gambia | West A Zone | 29 November 2020 | 2 (2007, 2011) |
| Uganda | Central-East Zone | 30 November 2020 | 0 (debut) |
| Tanzania | Central-East Zone | 30 November 2020 | 0 (debut) |
| Namibia | South Zone | 11 December 2020 | 0 (debut) |
| Mozambique | South Zone | 11 December 2020 | 0 (debut) |
| Ghana | West B Zone | 15 December 2020 | 11 (1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019) |
| Burkina Faso | West B Zone | 15 December 2020 | 3 (2003, 2007, 2019) |
| Central African Republic | Central Zone | 17 December 2020 | 0 (debut) |
| Cameroon | Central Zone | 19 December 2020 | 9 (1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017) |
| Morocco | North Zone | 24 December 2020 | 4 (1993, 1997, 2003, 2005) |
| Tunisia | North Zone | 27 December 2020 | 0 (debut) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

## Goalscorers

There were 164 goals scored in 66 matches, for an average of 2.48 goals per match.
5 goals
* Abdul Hamisi Suleiman
* Ivan Bogere
3 goals
* Zini
* Kouamé Botué
* Abdourahmane Bah
* Dion Lopy
* Sinenjongo Mkiva
* Kassim Haruna
* Kelvin John
2 goals
* Glaudilson
* Charbel Gomez
* Yves Ouédraogo
* Jang Sunday
* Abdourahman Kamil
* Beyene Bayse
* Momodou Bojang
* Kajally Drammeh
* Percious Boah
* Ibrahima Bérété
* Brahima Ouattara
* Benson Omalla
* Enock Wanyama
* Simon Cipriano
* Steven Damaseb
* Samba Diallo
* Oswin Appollis
* Philip Biajo
* Abdelkarim Yousif
* Karim Dermane
* Isma Mulugusi
* Kenneth Semakula
* Jimmy Mukeya
1 goal
* Mohamed Belloumi
* Benvindo Afonso
* Tefo Molefe
* Ibrahim Bancé
* Hamed Ouattara
* Alfred Nkurunziza
* John Bosco
* Saïdou Ibrahim
* Franck Mbella Etouga
* Kevin Prince Milla
* Séverin Onana
* Isaac Ngoma
* Christian Yawenendji
* Racine Louamba
* Sagesse Nzaou
* Roland Okouri
* Linda Mtanga
* Patient Mwamba
* Moktar Djama
* Pedro Obiang
* Majahesibili Ndlovu
* Biruk Balcha
* Adama Kanteh
* Habibou Mendy
* Daniel Afriyie
* Alsény Soumah
* Mohamed Lamine Soumah
* Jamir Sanha
* Evra Dje Bi Broh
* Kouadio N'Guessan
* Nicholas Ochieng
* Ronald Odede
* Fortune Omoto
* Hlomelang Lebina
* Mohamed El Khali
* Yamikani Mologeni
* Lanjesi Nkhoma
* Yoro Diaby
* Naman Keïta
* El Mehdi Maouhoub
* Oussama Targhalline
* Dércio Augusto
* Gabriel Pinho
* Junhino Jantze
* Giovanni Kaninab
* Ibrahim Litnine
* Abdoul Malik Moustapha
* Chris Nwaeze
* Mouhamed Bâ
* Libasse Gueye
* Ahmed Mandefu
* Abdul Conteh
* Abu Musa
* Aweys Iman
* Sahal Muhumed
* Rowan Human
* Mohlala Makola
* Tshepo Myeni
* Khamis Atari
* Nelson Elia
* William Kundu
* Al Gozoti Nooh
* Frank George
* Khelfin Hamdoun
* Anuar Jabir
* Ben Starkie
* Tepsi Theonasy
* Adam Ben Lamin
* Chiheb Labidi
* Richard Basangwa
* Joseph Kizza
* Steven Sserwadda
* Najib Yiga
* Derrick Bulaya
* John Chishimba
* Golden Mashata
* Muma Mumba
* Bill Antonio
* Tapiwa Mandinyenya
* Kelvin Mangiza
* Lexington Mujokoro
* Panashe Mutimbanyoka
1 own goal
* Khalil Bara (against Libya)
* Japhet Ntunzwenimana (against South Sudan)
* Kerfala Camara (against Gambia)
* Thapelo Mohale (against South Africa)
* Siyabonga Monyaka (against Zimbabwe)
* Massoudi Salifou (against Ivory Coast)