2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round

The third round of CAF matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 7 October 2016 to 14 November 2017.

Format

A total of 20 teams which had advanced from the second round were drawn into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Seeding

The draw for the third round was held on 24 June 2016, 17:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[1]

The seedings – initially released on 8 June 2016 – were based on a special edition of the FIFA World Rankings that included all matches up to 7 June 2016. This allowed the rankings to include results of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification games played between 3–5 June 2016.[2] However, following a complaint by the Egyptian Football Association, it was reported that a further special ranking would be used.[3] This seeding was released on 21 June.[4] Following further complaints,[5] the Emergency Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers reversed the change, and restored the initial special rankings.[6]

  • Pot 1 contained the teams ranked 1–5.
  • Pot 2 contained the teams ranked 6–10.
  • Pot 3 contained the teams ranked 11–15.
  • Pot 4 contained the teams ranked 16–20.

Each group contained one team from each of the four pots. The fixtures of each group were decided based on the respective draw position of each team, which was decided by drawing a ball with position numbers 1–4.[7]

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1.  Algeria (31)
  2.  Ivory Coast (34)
  3.  Ghana (36)
  4.  Senegal (40)
  5.  Tunisia (45)
  1.  Cape Verde (46)
  2.  Egypt (47)
  3.  DR Congo (49)
  4.  Nigeria (57)
  5.  Mali (58)
  1.  Cameroon (59)
  2.  Morocco (60)
  3.  Guinea (62)
  4.  South Africa (66)
  5.  Congo (67)
  1.  Uganda (69)
  2.  Burkina Faso (71)
  3.  Zambia (83)
  4.  Gabon (88)
  5.  Libya (115)

Groups

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tunisia 6 4 2 0 11 4 +7 14 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup 2–1 0–0 2–0
2  DR Congo 6 4 1 1 14 7 +7 13 2–2 4–0 3–1
3  Libya 6 1 1 4 4 10 6 4 0–1 1–2 0–1
4  Guinea 6 1 0 5 6 14 8 3 1–4 1–2 3–2
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
DR Congo 4–0 Libya
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 71,000
Referee: Mahamadou Keita (Mali)
Tunisia 2–0 Guinea
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (Burundi)

Libya 0–1 Tunisia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)
Guinea 1–2 DR Congo
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 30,000

Guinea 3–2 Libya
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 13,750
Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djama (Djibouti)
Tunisia 2–1 DR Congo
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Libya 1–0 Guinea
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Abou Coulibaly (Ivory Coast)
DR Congo 2–2 Tunisia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Guinea 1–4 Tunisia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 12,000
Libya 1–2 DR Congo
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Tunisia 0–0 Libya
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
DR Congo 3–1 Guinea
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 3,000

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Nigeria 6 4 1 1 11 6 +5 13 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup 1–0 4–0 3–1
2  Zambia 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 1–2 2–2 3–1
3  Cameroon 6 1 4 1 7 9 2 7 1–1 1–1 2–0
4  Algeria 6 1 1 4 6 10 4 4 3–0[lower-alpha 1] 0–1 1–1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. FIFA awarded Algeria a 3–0 win as a result of Nigeria fielding the ineligible player Shehu Abdullahi, after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. Abdullahi failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the qualifying competition.[9]
Zambia 1–2 Nigeria
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Algeria 1–1 Cameroon
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Cameroon 1–1 Zambia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 12,000
Nigeria 3–1 Algeria
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Nigeria 4–0 Cameroon
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Zambia 3–1 Algeria
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: Hélder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)

Cameroon 1–1 Nigeria
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 38,136
Algeria 0–1 Zambia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Mahamadou Keita (Mali)

Nigeria 1–0 Zambia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)
Cameroon 2–0 Algeria
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)

Algeria 3–0
Awarded[note 2]
 Nigeria
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Zambia 2–2 Cameroon
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco)

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Morocco 6 3 3 0 11 0 +11 12 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup 0–0 6–0 3–0
2  Ivory Coast 6 2 2 2 7 5 +2 8 0–2 3–1 1–2
3  Mali 6 1 3 2 2 8 6 6 0–0 0–0 0–0
4  Gabon 6 1 3 2 1 8 7 6 0–0 0–3 0–1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Gabon 0–0 Morocco
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Ivory Coast 3–1 Mali
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

Mali 0–0 Gabon
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 25,000
Morocco 0–0 Ivory Coast
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Morocco 6–0 Mali
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 42,000
Gabon 0–3 Ivory Coast
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Ivory Coast 1–2 Gabon
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 12,948
Mali 0–0 Morocco
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Mali 0–0 Ivory Coast
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 8,960
Referee: Hélder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)
Morocco 3–0 Gabon
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Gabon 0–0 Mali
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Ivory Coast 0–2 Morocco
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Senegal 6 4 2 0 10 3 +7 14 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup 0–0 2–0 2–1
2  Burkina Faso 6 2 3 1 10 6 +4 9 2–2 4–0 1–1
3  Cape Verde 6 2 0 4 4 12 8 6 0–2 0–2 2–1
4  South Africa 6 1 1 4 7 10 3 4 0–2[lower-alpha 1] 3–1 1–2
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. FIFA ordered a replay of the original South Africa v Senegal match after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the lifetime ban of match referee Joseph Lamptey. Originally South Africa had defeated Senegal 2–1.[10]
Burkina Faso 1–1 South Africa
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco)
Senegal 2–0 Cape Verde
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 53,000
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)

South Africa Annulled[note 3] Senegal
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 26,179
Cape Verde 0–2 Burkina Faso
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Cape Verde 2–1 South Africa
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Senegal 0–0 Burkina Faso
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 42,901
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

South Africa 1–2 Cape Verde
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Ferdinand Udoh (Nigeria)
Burkina Faso 2–2 Senegal
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 35,000

South Africa 3–1 Burkina Faso
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 10,500
Cape Verde 0–2 Senegal
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

South Africa 0–2 Senegal
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 40,000

Burkina Faso 4–0 Cape Verde
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)
Senegal 2–1 South Africa
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Egypt 6 4 1 1 8 4 +4 13 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup 1–0 2–0 2–1
2  Uganda 6 2 3 1 3 2 +1 9 1–0 0–0 1–0
3  Ghana 6 1 4 1 7 5 +2 7 1–1 0–0 1–1
4  Congo 6 0 2 4 5 12 7 2 1–2 1–1 1–5
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Ghana 0–0 Uganda
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: El Fadil Mohamed (Sudan)
Congo 1–2 Egypt
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Denis Dembélé (Ivory Coast)

Uganda 1–0 Congo
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Egypt 2–0 Ghana
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Uganda 1–0 Egypt
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Ghana 1–1 Congo
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)

Congo 1–5 Ghana
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 14,379
Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco)
Egypt 1–0 Uganda
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Uganda 0–0 Ghana
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Egypt 2–1 Congo
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Congo 1–1 Uganda
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 1,002
Referee: El Fadil Mohamed (Sudan)
Ghana 1–1 Egypt
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)

Goalscorers

There were 144 goals scored in 61 matches, for an average of 2.36 goals per match.

5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

Notes

  1. Libya played their home matches outside Libya due to security concerns from the civil war.
  2. FIFA awarded Algeria a 3–0 win as a result of Nigeria fielding the ineligible player Shehu Abdullahi, after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. Abdullahi failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the qualifying competition.[9]
  3. On 6 September 2017, the Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers annulled the result of the South Africa v Senegal match on 12 November 2016 and ordered that it be replayed within the November 2017 international window. This decision was confirmed by the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions on 14 September 2017.[11] Originally South Africa had defeated Senegal 2–1. Match referee Joseph Lamptey was banned for life by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 20 March 2017 for "unlawfully influencing" the match after issuing a penalty for handball against Senegal.[12] The decision was upheld by the FIFA Appeal Committee, and later the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 6 September 2017.[10]

References

  1. "June draw for third round of African Zone qualifiers". FIFA.com. 20 November 2015. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.
  2. "OFFICIAL: Egypt in Pot 2 for African World Cup qualifiers draw". kingfut.com. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  3. "PHOTO: FIFA to release new special ranking for Africa". kingfut.com. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  4. "2018 FIFA W/Cup draw holds Friday". Vanguard Nigeria. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  5. "FIFA cancels corrected ranking, keeping Egypt in Pot 2". kingfut.com. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  6. "Africa gears up for draw for third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers". FIFA.com. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  7. "Road to Russia mapped out for African hopefuls". FIFA.com. 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016.
  8. "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com.
  9. "Latest decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee". FIFA.com. 12 December 2017.
  10. "South Africa vs. Senegal World Cup qualifier to be replayed in November". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  11. "OC for FIFA Competitions approves procedures for the Final Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  12. "Match official banned for life due to match manipulation". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
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