The U23 AFCON is also Africa’s route to the men’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Fourteen sides came through the first round and join the seeded teams who had a bye: Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Tunisia, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Madagascar, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe.
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First legs, 9 November
- Zambia v Burkina Faso
- Nigeria v DR Congo
- Niger v Equatorial Guinea
- Ghana v Libya
- Gabon v Tunisia
- Côte d’Ivoire v Kenya
- Senegal v Djibouti
- Morocco v Ethiopia
- Cameroon v Rwanda
- South Africa v Madagascar
- Congo v Angola
- Guinea v Botswana
- Algeria v Eswatini
- Mali v Zimbabwe
Return legs, 17 November
- Burkina Faso v Zambia
- DR Congo v Nigeria
- Equatorial Guinea v Niger
- Libya v Ghana
- Tunisia v Gabon
- Kenya v Côte d’Ivoire
- Djibouti v Senegal
- Ethiopia v Morocco
- Rwanda v Cameroon
- Madagascar v South Africa
- Angola v Congo
- Botswana v Guinea
- Eswatini v Algeria
- Zimbabwe v Mali
Guy Bukasa’s DR Congo turned a 1-0 first-leg defeat in Mauritania into a 2-0 home win and a 2-1 aggregate. Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles enter at this round on the strength of their record in the competition. They must beat DR Congo, then win another two-legged tie in March, to reach Egypt.
Guinea, who came through against Seychelles, meet Botswana. Ghana have Libya. Cameroon have Rwanda. The first-round survivors are no longer the underdogs in every tie. In Nigeria’s case, they are the next opponent.