2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF third round

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF third round
Tournament details
Dates7 October 2016 – 14 November 2017
Teams20 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played61
Goals scored144 (2.36 per match)
Attendance1,773,205 (29,069 per match)
Top scorer(s)Egypt Mohamed Salah
(5 goals)
← 2014
2022 →

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

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[8]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

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 — 1–0
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)
Attendance: 30,000
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)
Attendance: 80,000
Guinea 1–4 Tunisia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 12,000
Libya 1–2 DR Congo
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 750
Tunisia 0–0 Libya
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 56,000
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[a] 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)
Attendance: 35,000
Cameroon 1–1 Zambia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 12,000
Nigeria 3–1 Algeria
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 28,000
Nigeria 4–0 Cameroon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
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)
Attendance: 30,000
Zambia 2–2 Cameroon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 20,000

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 3–0 6–0
2  Ivory Coast 6 2 2 2 7 5 +2 8 0–2 — 1–2 3–1
3  Gabon 6 1 3 2 2 7 −5 6 0–0 0–3 — 0–0
4  Mali 6 0 4 2 1 9 −8 4 0–0 0–0 0–0 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Gabon 0–0 Morocco
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 18,000
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)
Attendance: 40,000
Morocco 6–0 Mali
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 42,000
Gabon 0–3 Ivory Coast
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 23,000
Ivory Coast 1–2 Gabon
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 12,948
Mali 0–0 Morocco
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 20,000
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)
Attendance: 45,000
Gabon 0–0 Mali
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 8,700
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Ivory Coast 0–2 Morocco
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 32,000

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[a] 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
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)
Attendance: 5,000
Cape Verde 2–1 South Africa
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 4,000
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)
Attendance: 14,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
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)
Attendance: 50,000

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)
Attendance: 25,000
Egypt 2–0 Ghana
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 70,000
Uganda 1–0 Egypt
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 30,000
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
Egypt 1–0 Uganda
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 60,000
Uganda 0–0 Ghana
Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 35,000
Egypt 2–1 Congo
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 86,000
Congo 1–1 Uganda
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 1,002
Referee: El Fadil Mohamed (Sudan)
Ghana 1–1 Egypt
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CAF)
Attendance: 14,000

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. ^ a b c 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, which was confirmed by the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions on 14 September 2017.[11] Originally, South Africa had defeated Senegal 2–1, but 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] this decision was upheld by the FIFA Appeal Committee, and subsequently by 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Latest decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee". FIFA.com. 12 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  10. ^ a b "South Africa vs. Senegal World Cup qualifier to be replayed in November". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 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.

External links

  • Official FIFA World Cup website
    • Qualifiers – Africa: Round 3, FIFA.com
  • 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – Qualifiers, CAFonline.com
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