The First Round of qualifying for the 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations is finished following the completion of all second leg matchups on Tuesday and there were a couple of notable stories including Rwanda’s excellent comeback. The Amavubi were down 4-1 after the first leg in Libya but surged back for a 3-0 victory in the second leg at the Stade Amahoro in Kigali. Tied 4-4 in the aggregate score over two legs, Rwanda advanced to the second round due to the away goal they scored in the first leg in Libya and will face Mali next.

Togo and Burkina Faso also overcame first leg deficits to clinch their spots in the next round. Togo defeated Mauritania 2-0 in Lomé to win 2-1 on the aggregate score while the Burkinabé defeated Gambia on the away goal rule after a 2-1 second leg victory left the teams tied at two goals each. DR Congo dominated Ethiopia before finally finding the winning goal in their 1-0 home victory to advance.

Angola and Tanzania confirmed their spots in the Second Round earlier in the week while Madagascar and Mozambique had little to worry about as they moved on courtesy of dominant first leg results. Botswana defeated Eswatini 2-1 but Senzo Dlamini’s second half goal for Eswatini means they advance 3-2 on aggregate and Niger moved past Guinea-Bissau with a 4-2 second leg victory.

Second leg scores from the First Round are below followed by the matchups in the Second Leg and then highlights from Monday and Tuesday’s second leg matches.

Niger 4-2 Guinea-Bissau

Niger advance 4-2 on aggregate

Botswana 2-1 Eswatini

Eswatini advance 3-2 on aggregate

Togo 2-0 Mauritania

Togo advance 2-1 on aggregate

DR Congo 1-0 Ethiopia

DR Congo advance 1-0 on aggregate

Mauritius 1-2 Mozambique

Mozambique advance 5-1 on aggregate

Gambia 1-2 Burkina Faso

Tied 2-2 on aggregate; Burkina Faso advance on away goals

Rwanda 3-0 Libya

Tied 4-4 on aggregate; Rwanda advance on away goals

Seychelles 1-7 Madagascar

Madagascar advance 12-1 on aggregate

Namibia 0-6 Angola

Angola advance 8-1 on aggregate

South Sudan 3-3 Tanzania

Tied 3-3 on aggregate; Tanzania advance on away goals

Niger vs. Ivory Coast

Sudan vs. Benin

Tanzania vs. Nigeria

Guinea vs. Uganda

Eswatini vs. Egypt

Sierra Leone vs. Zambia

Togo vs. South Africa

Republic of Congo vs. Tunisia

DR Congo vs. Algeria

Mozambique vs. Ghana

Burkina Faso vs. Senegal

Rwanda vs. Mali

Madagascar vs. Gabon

Angola vs. Cameroon

Rwanda 3-0 Libya

DR Congo 1-0 Ethiopia

South Sudan 3-3 Tanzania