After a qualification process involving 51 national football teams and lasting for almost two years, the list of the 24 sides to take part in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt has been confirmed.
The 32nd edition of the international men’s football championship of Africa will have three debutants – Burundi, Mauritania and Madagascar all qualified for their first ever Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Sierra Leone went into the qualifying period, but were disqualified due to a suspension by CAF.
Chad were banned from entering by CAF due to their withdrawal from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament.
Eritrea and Somalia did not enter the competition.
The qualification matches started on 22nd March 2017 and ended on 24th March 2019. A total of 350 goals were scored in the 147 games played.
Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo finished as the top scorer with 7 goals.
Four teams from East Africa; Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya – will play at the finals in Egypt.
The 2019 AFCON tournament will be the first to host 24 teams from 16. The competition will be held from 21 June to 19 July.
The group stage draw will be held on 12 April 2019 in Cairo, Egypt.
Qualified teams: Senegal, Madagascar, Morocco, Cameroon, Mali, Burundi, Algeria, Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Angola, Mauritania, Tunisia, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, DRC and Zimbabwe.