AWCON: 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualification begins | OneFootball

The 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations held its first round ties from 18-26 October 2021. A record-setting 44 nations participated in the first contests of the tournament. So far, we have seen some scores that resembled a cricket match, and others that were absolute nail-biters.

The original draw for the first round was held in May 2021. Nations were placed into six separate pots, with teams in each pot playing against each other. The first round featured a home-and-away format, with teams moving forward on aggregate.

In the event of a tie, the away goals rule applied. Were teams not separated after this, the two sides went to a penalty shoot-out.

There were no surprises in the first round, and several of Africa’s top teams cruised to smashing victories. Ivory Coast went through by a 20-0 margin. Kenya, South Africa and Algeria also posted double digit victories over their opponents. Burundi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tunisia, and Senegal also cruised into the second round comfortably.

The remaining first round ties were much closer. Zambia, Namibia, Cameroon, Gambia, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso and Nigeria had stiff tests to move on. Gabon moved past Congo thanks to away goals, and Uganda beat Ethiopia 2-1 in the shoot-out to advance. Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Togo advanced on walk-over as their competitors withdrew from the tournament.

Africa Women’s Cup of Nations 2022 first round results

The winning side is listed first with the aggregate score of the tie.

Uganda 2-2 Ethiopia (Uganda wins on PKs)

Kenya 15-1 South Sudan

Burundi 6-0 Eritrea

Zambia 4-3 Malawi

Namibia 5-3 Tanzania

Zimbabwe 6-1 Eswatini

Botswana 7-1 Angola

South Africa 13-0 Mozambique

Algeria 14-0 Sudan (Sudan withdrew after the first match due to security concerns)

Tunisia 7-2 Egypt

Gabon 2-2 Congo (Gabon wins on away goals)

Cameroon 3-0 Central African Republic

Gambia 3-1 Sierra Leone

Senegal 8-1 Liberia

Mali 4-2 Guinea

Guinea-Bissau 2-0 Mauritania

Burkina Faso 5-2 Benin

Nigeria 2-1 Ghana

Ivory Coast 20-0 Niger

Djibouti walkover Rwanda

Equatorial Guinea walkover Democratic Republic of Congo

Togo walkover Sao Tome and Principe

Second round ties

The second round of the tournament will take place 14-23 February 2022. The scheduled matches are as follows:

Uganda vs.Kenya

Djibouti vs. Burundi

Zambia vs. Namibia

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana

South Africa vs. Algeria

Tunisia vs. Equatorial Guinea

Togo vs. Gabon

Cameroon vs. Gambia

Senegal vs. Mali

Guinea-Bissau vs. Burkina Faso

Nigeria vs. Ivory Coast

The 11 winners of these ties will qualify for the the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, to take place in Morocco 2-23 July 2022.

As hosts, Morocco have qualified for the tournament automatically. The tournament doubles as the African qualifiers for the World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. The top four teams at the AWCON will qualify for the World Cup.

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