The preliminary round of the qualifiers for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations has been conducted as South Sudan was drawn against Djibouti.

South Sudan will play their first match away from home, and their return game will be at home.

In other draws, Eritrea was drawn against Botswana, while Sao Tome will face Mauritius, the Seychelles side was drawn against Lesotho, and Somalia will play against Eswatini, while Chad was drawn against the Gambia side.

The draw was conducted yesterday at 5 pm CAT in Doula, Cameroon.

The preliminary round matches will take place during the FIFA international window between March 21-29.

The winners from the groups will later join the remaining 42 countries in the group stage of the qualifiers.

While the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the African Qualifiers Third Round draw will be conducted today, January 22, 2022, at the same venue and time.

The 10 qualified teams are Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, and DR Congo.

Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Nigeria were in Pot 1, which has the highest rank.

Pot 2 includes Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, and DR Congo.

The five highest-ranked teams will play against the five least-ranked teams (the first leg will be played at the home of the lower-ranked teams).