This page details the qualifying process for the 1990 African Cup of Nations in Algeria. Algeria, as hosts, and Cameroon, as title holders, qualified automatically.

Qualifying tournament

 Algeria qualified as hosts
 Cameroon qualified as holders

Preliminary round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Tanzania  2–2 (1–3 p)  Swaziland 1–1 1–1
Angola  4–1  Equatorial Guinea 4–1 0–0
Liberia  1–4  Mali 0–1 1–3
Mauritius  3–1  Seychelles 3–0 0–1
Gabon  3–1  Burkina Faso 3–0 0–1
Ethiopia  w/o  Madagascar
Guinea  w/o  Gambia
Libya  w/o  Uganda
Mozambique  w/o  Mauritania
Tanzania 1 – 1 Swaziland
Gaga 57' (pen.)
Dar es Salaam
Referee: Katongo Kabungo (Zambia)
Swaziland 1 – 1 Tanzania
Fumo 88'
Penalties
3 – 1
Mbabane
Referee: John Nkathazo (Zimbabwe)

Swaziland won 3–1 on penalty shootout after 2–2 on aggregate.


Angola 4 – 1 Equatorial Guinea
Mendinho 43'
Barbosa 46'
Vieira Dias 54', 89'
61' Pedro
Luanda
Referee: Wa Ntambidila (Zaire)
Equatorial Guinea 0 – 0 Angola
Malabo
Referee: Pierre Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)

Angola won 4–1 on aggregate.


Liberia 0 – 1 Mali
Monrovia
Referee: Selemani Tambwe (Burundi)
Mali 3 – 1 Liberia
Cissé 17'
Traoré 36'
Diarra 87'
Sogbie 89'
Bamako
Referee: Saidou Sowe (Gambia)

Mali won 4–1 on aggregate.


Mauritius 3 – 0 Seychelles
Curepipe
Referee: Wallace Mabuza (Swaziland)
Seychelles 1 – 0 Mauritius
Dorasamy 62'
Victoria
Referee: William Ochieng (Kenya)

Mauritius won 3–1 on aggregate.


Gabon 3 – 0 Burkina Faso
Minko 37', 85'
Burkina Faso 1 – 0 Gabon
Gnimassou 29'
Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou
Referee: Issaka Diallo (Mali)

Gabon won 3–1 on aggregate.


Ethiopia Cancelled Madagascar
Withdrew

Ethiopia advanced after Madagascar withdrew.


Guinea Cancelled Gambia
Withdrew

Guinea advanced after Gambia withdrew.


Libya Cancelled Uganda
Withdrew

Libya advanced after Uganda withdrew.


Mozambique Cancelled Mauritania
Withdrew

Mozambique advanced after Mauritania withdrew.

First round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Sudan  1–1 (5–6 p)  Kenya 1–0 0–1
Ethiopia  2–6  Egypt 1-0 1–6
Guinea  1–4  Nigeria 1–1 0–3
Gabon  1–1 (5–3 p)  Ghana 1–0 0–1
Mali  1–0  Tunisia 0–0 1–0
Angola  1–6  Ivory Coast 0–2 1–4
Swaziland  1–3  Malawi 0–2 1–1
Mauritius  1–5  Zimbabwe 1–4 0–1
Mozambique  0–4  Zambia 0–1 0–3
Senegal  w/o  Togo
Morocco  w/o  Libya
Zaire  w/o  Sierra Leone
Sudan 1 – 0 Kenya
Khartoum Stadium, Khartoum
Referee: Mohamed Hossam Al-Din (Egypt)
Kenya 1 – 0 Sudan
Dawo
Penalties
6 – 5

Kenya won 6–5 on penalty shootout after 1–1 on aggregate.


Ethiopia 1 – 0 Egypt
Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa
Referee: William Ochieng (Kenya)
Egypt 6 – 1 Ethiopia
Abdel-Hameed 5', 13', 48'
El-Kass 40'
Hassan 58', 75'
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Mohamed Abdelsalam Gasmalla (Sudan)

Egypt won 6–2 on aggregate.


Guinea 1 – 1 Nigeria
Camara 30' Balarabe 35'
Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry
Referee: Hassan Chafaï (Morocco)
Nigeria 3 – 0 Guinea
Ekpo
Adekola
Balarabe
Liberty Stadium, Ibadan
Referee: Idrissa Traoré (Mali)

Nigeria won 4–1 on aggregate.


Gabon 1 – 0 Ghana
Stade Omar Bongo, Libreville
Referee: Laurent Petcha (Cameroon)
Ghana 1 – 0 Gabon
Penalties
3 – 5
Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Referee: Selemani Tambwe (Burundi)

Gabon won 5–3 on penalty shootout after 1–1 on aggregate.


Mali 0 – 0 Tunisia
Bamako
Referee: Idrissa Sarr (Mauritania)
Tunisia 0 – 1 Mali
Kouyaté
Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis
Referee: Ali Kazem (Libya)

Mali won after 1–0 on aggregate.


Angola 0 – 2 Ivory Coast
Luanda
Referee: Gaston Engoua (Congo)
Ivory Coast 4 – 1 Angola
Bamba
Traoré (pen.)
Amani
Ralph (pen.)

Ivory Coast won 6–1 on aggregate.


Swaziland 0 – 2 Malawi
Sinalo 12'
Kayira 20'
Mbabane
Referee: John Nkathazo (Zimbabwe)
Malawi 1 – 1 Swaziland
Kayira
Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre
Referee: Joel Mondoka (Zambia)

Malawi won 3–1 on aggregate.


Mauritius 1 – 4 Zimbabwe
Gunesh 35' (pen.) Ndunduma 15'
F. Phiri 27'
Mwanza 40'
J. Phiri 87'
Curepipe
Referee: Ali Tahir Hafidh (Tanzania)
Zimbabwe 1 – 0 Mauritius
National Sports Stadium, Harare
Referee: Jimmy Kagere (Rwanda)

Zimbabwe won 5–1 on aggregate.


Mozambique 0 – 1 Zambia
Estádio da Machava, Maputo
Referee: Eganaden Cadressen (Mauritius)
Zambia 3 – 0 Mozambique
Malitoli
Lusaka
Referee: Charles Masembe (Uganda)

Zambia won 4–0 on aggregate.


Senegal Cancelled Togo
Withdrew

Senegal advanced after Togo withdrew.


Morocco Cancelled Libya
Withdrew

Morroco advanced after Libya withdrew.


Zaire Cancelled Sierra Leone
Withdrew

Zaire advanced after Sierra Leone withdrew.

Second round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Senegal  4–1  Morocco 3–0 1–1
Malawi  2–3  Kenya 2–3 0–0
Egypt  2–0  Zaire 2–0 0–0
Nigeria  4–1  Zimbabwe 3–0 1–1
Mali  3–5  Ivory Coast 2–2 1–3
Zambia  4–2  Gabon 3–0 1–2
Senegal 3 – 0 Morocco
Bocandé 48', 77'
N'Diaye 53'
Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar
Referee: Abderrahmane Bergui (Algeria)
Morocco 1 – 1 Senegal
Nader 1' Youm 88'
Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh
Referee: Drissa Traoré (Mali)

Senegal won 4–1 on aggregate.


Malawi 2 – 3 Kenya
Chirwa 75'
Chimodzi 78'
Chimodzi 5' (o.g.)
Otieno 9'
Ndolo 85'
Kenya 0 – 0 Malawi
Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi
Referee: Mohamed Hafez (Egypt)

Kenya won 3–2 on aggregate.


Egypt 2 – 0 Zaire
Hassan 57'
Shawky 67'
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Referee: Abdelali Naciri (Morocco)
Zaire 0 – 0 Egypt
Stade du 20-Mai, Kinshasa
Referee: Badou Jasseh (Gambia)

Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.


Nigeria 3 – 0 Zimbabwe
Esin 30'
Murehwa 34' (o.g.)
Nwosu 46'
Liberty Stadium, Ibadan
Referee: Badara Sène (Senegal)
Zimbabwe 1 – 1 Nigeria
Ekpo 21' (o.g.) Agada 89'
National Sports Stadium, Harare
Referee: Joel Mondoka (Zambia)

Nigeria won 4–1 on aggregate.


Mali 2 – 2 Ivory Coast
Sanogo 44'
Samaké 66'
Traoré 26'
Yaohua 56'
Ivory Coast 3 – 1 Mali
Traoré 37', 52'
Amani 85'
Cissé 86'

Ivory Coast won 5–3 on aggregate.


Zambia 3 – 0 Gabon
Malitoli
Makinka
Lusaka
Referee: Bekele Kidane (Ethiopia)
Gabon 2 – 1 Zambia
Minko 15'
Amégasse 43'
Chansa 7'
Stade Omar Bongo, Libreville
Referee: Idrissa Sarr (Mauritania)

Zambia won 4–2 on aggregate.

Qualified teams

Participating nations

References