1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the African zone (CAF). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification.

A total of 26 CAF teams entered the competition. The African Zone was allocated 1 place (out of 16) in the final tournament.

There would be five rounds of play:

Preliminary Round, First Round, Second Round and Third Round: In each of these rounds, the teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the next round, until there would be 3 teams left.
Final Round: The 3 teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.

Preliminary round[]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Sierra Leone	6–3	Niger	5–1	1–2
Upper Volta	3–1	Mauritania	1–1	2–0

7 March 1976	Sierra Leone	5 – 1	Niger	Freetown, Sierra Leone
	37', 68' 57', 66' 70'		17'	Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 4,250 Referee: Aguiahr Komla Barto (Togo)

21 March 1976	Niger	2 – 1	Sierra Leone	Niamey, Niger
	36' Kanfideni 52'		37'	Stadium: Stade du 29 Juillet Attendance: 5,641 Referee: Thompson Shakirudeen Badru (Nigeria)

Sierra Leone won 6–3 on agg. and advanced to the First Round.

13 March 1976	Upper Volta	1 – 1	Mauritania	Ouagadougou, Upper Volta
	44'		68' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Municipal Attendance: 3,323 Referee: Adamou Mamoudou (Niger)

28 March 1976	Mauritania	0 – 2	Upper Volta	Nouakchott, Mauritania
			32' 52'	Stadium: Stade de la Capitale Attendance: 1,782 Referee: Mody Ba (Mali)

Upper Volta won 3–1 on agg. and advanced to the First Round.

First round[]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg	3rd leg
Algeria	1–0	Libya	1–0	0–0
Morocco	2–2 (2–4 p)	Tunisia	1–1	1–1
Togo	2–1	Senegal	1–0	1–1
Ghana	3–5	Guinea	2–1	1–2	0–2
Sierra Leone	2–6	Nigeria	0–0	2–6
Congo-Brazzaville	4–2	Cameroon	2–2	2–0
Upper Volta	1–3	Ivory Coast	1–1	0–2
Egypt	5–1	Ethiopia	3–0	2–1
Zambia	5–0	Malawi	4–0	1–0
Zaire	w/o	Central African Republic	—	—
Kenya	w/o	Sudan	—	—
Uganda	w/o	Tanzania	—	—

1 April 1976	Algeria	1 – 0	Libya	Algiers, Algeria
	Betrouni 83'			Stadium: 5 July Stadium Attendance: 15,267 Referee: Jean Dubach (Switzerland)

16 April 1976	Libya	0 – 0	Algeria	Tripoli, Libya
				Stadium: 11 June Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Emilio Guruceta Muro (Spain)

Algeria won 1–0 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

12 December 1976	Morocco	1 – 1	Tunisia	Casablanca, Morocco
	35'		Dhiab 56'	Stadium: Stade Père Jégo Attendance: 13,056 Referee: Franz Wöhrer (Austria)

9 January 1977	Tunisia	1 – 1 (a.e.t.) (4 – 2 p)	Morocco	Tunis, Tunisia
	Labidi 34'		55'	Stadium: Stade El Menzah Attendance: 44,500 Referee: Walter Hungerbühler (Switzerland)

The aggregate score was tied 2–2, but Tunisia won 4–2 on penalties in the second leg to advance to the Second Round. This was the first penalty shootout in a World Cup match.^[1]

17 October 1976	Togo	1 – 0	Senegal	Lomé, Togo
	87'			Stadium: Stade Général Eyadema Attendance: 5,173 Referee: Dwomoh (Ghana)

31 October 1976	Senegal	1 – 1	Togo	Dakar, Senegal
	Ba 63'		58'	Stadium: Stade Demba Diop Attendance: 7,000 Referee: (Morocco)

Togo won 2–1 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

10 October 1976	Ghana	2 – 1	Guinea	Accra, Ghana
	57' Afriyie 83'		52'	Stadium: Accra Sports Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: (Ivory Coast)

31 October 1976	Guinea	2 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Ghana	Conakry, Guinea
	Papa Camara 51' Keita 56'		Ansah 59'	Stadium: Stade du 28 Septembre Attendance: 20,000 Referee: (Algeria)

The aggregate score was tied 3–3, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Second Round.

16 January 1977	Ghana	0 – 2	Guinea	Lomé, Togo
			Papa Camara 3' 31'	Stadium: Stade Général Eyadema Attendance: 13,482 Referee: (Senegal)

Guinea advanced to the Second Round, via the play-off.

16 October 1976	Sierra Leone	0 – 0	Nigeria	Freetown, Sierra Leone
				Stadium: Reckrie Stadium Attendance: 5,173 Referee: (Ghana)

30 October 1976	Nigeria	6 – 2	Sierra Leone	Lagos, Nigeria
	Odegbami 25' Atuegbu 31', 34' Usiyan 40' Emeteole 63' 77'		74' 88' (pen.)	Stadium: Surulere Stadium Attendance: 25,996 Referee: (Tanzania)

Nigeria won 6–2 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

17 October 1976	Congo-Brazzaville	2 – 2	Cameroon	Brazzaville, Congo-Brazzaville
	Mounoudzi 66' (pen.) 76'		Milla 11' Onguene 35'	Stadium: Stade de la Revolution Attendance: 17,367 Referee: (Zambia)

31 October 1976	Cameroon	0 – 2 Awarded^[2] (1 – 2 82')	Congo-Brazzaville	Yaoundé, Cameroon
	Milla 7'		19' N'Domba 52'	Stadium: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo Attendance: 26,050 Referee: Housainou N'Jai (Gambia)

Congo-Brazzaville won 4–2 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

4 September 1976	Upper Volta	1 – 1	Ivory Coast	Ouagadougou, Upper Volta
	70'		36'	Stadium: Stade Municipal Attendance: 5,418 Referee: (Senegal)

26 September 1976	Ivory Coast	2 – 0	Upper Volta	Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
	17' 34'			Stadium: Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny Attendance: 5,960 Referee: Diagne (Guinea)

Côte d'Ivoire won 3–1 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

29 October 1976	Egypt	3 – 0	Ethiopia	Cairo, Egypt
	El Khatib 4', 19', 77'			Stadium: Nasser Stadium Attendance: 120,000 Referee: Gianfranco Menegali (Italy)

14 November 1976	Ethiopia	1 – 2	Egypt	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
	40'		El Khatib 12', 73'	Stadium: Addis Ababa Stadium Attendance: 150,000 Referee: Wurtz (France)

Egypt won 5–1 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

9 May 1976	Zambia	4 – 0	Malawi	Lusaka, Zambia
	Chanda 4' Phiri 12', 75' Chamangwana 88' (o.g.)			Stadium: 7 April Stadium Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Muamba Kabwe (Zaire)

30 May 1976	Malawi	0 – 1	Zambia	Blantyre, Malawi
			Kapita 48'	Stadium: Kamuzu Stadium Attendance: 8,230 Referee: Charles Randrianaly (Madagascar)

Zambia won 5–0 on agg. and advanced to the Second Round.

	Zaire	w/o	Central African Republic
			Withdrew

Central African Republic withdrew, so Zaire advanced to the Second Round automatically.

	Kenya	w/o	Sudan
			Withdrew

Sudan withdrew, so Kenya advanced to the Second Round automatically.

	Uganda	w/o	Tanzania
			Withdrew

Tanzania withdrew, so Uganda advanced to the Second Round automatically.

Second round[]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Tunisia	3–1	Algeria	2–0	1–1
Togo	1–4	Guinea	0–2	1–2
Ivory Coast	6–3	Congo-Brazzaville	3–2	3–1
Kenya	0–1	Egypt	0–0	0–1
Uganda	3–4	Zambia	1–0	2–4 (aet)
Nigeria	w/o	Zaire	—	—

6 February 1977	Tunisia	2 – 0	Algeria	Tunis, Tunisia
	Akid 56' Kaabi 73'			Stadium: Stade El Menzah Attendance: 39,987 Referee: Antoine Queudeville (Luxembourg)

28 February 1977	Algeria	1 – 1	Tunisia	Algiers, Algeria
	Guendouz 34'		Jebali 89'	Stadium: 5 July stadium Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Paul Bonett (Malta)

Tunisia won 3–1 on agg. and advanced to the Third Round.

13 February 1977	Togo	0 – 2	Guinea	Lomé, Togo
			15' Souleymane 84'	Stadium: Stade Général Eyadema Attendance: 7,976 Referee: Felix Balloux (Ivory Coast)

27 February 1977	Guinea	2 – 1	Togo	Conakry, Guinea
	Papa Camara 36' 40' (pen.)		55'	Stadium: Stade du 28 Septembre Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Tanor Dieng (Senegal)

Guinea won 4–1 on agg. and advanced to the Third Round.

13 February 1977	Ivory Coast	3 – 2	Congo-Brazzaville	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
	10' 20' 81'		Bahamboula 36' N'Domba 89'	Stadium: Municipal Stadium Attendance: 3,600 Referee: Dwomoh (Ghana)

27 February 1977	Congo-Brazzaville	1 – 3	Ivory Coast	Brazzaville, Congo-Brazzaville
	23'		10' Miézan 38' 82'	Stadium: Stade de la Révolution Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Festus Okubule (Nigeria)

Ivory Coast won 6–3 on agg. and advanced to the Third Round.

6 February 1977	Kenya	0 – 0	Egypt	Nairobi, Kenya
				Stadium: Nairobi City Stadium Attendance: 8,337 Referee: Ahmed Jama (Somalia)

27 February 1977	Egypt	1 – 0	Kenya	Cairo, Egypt
	Khalil 13'			Stadium: Nasser Stadium Attendance: 70,000 Referee: El-Ghoul (Libya)

Egypt won 1–0 on agg. and advanced to the Third Round.

13 February 1977	Uganda	1 – 0	Zambia	Kampala, Uganda
	73'			Stadium: Nakivubo Stadium Attendance: 11,940 Referee: Ismael Yusuf Kemal (Ethiopia)

27 February 1977	Zambia	4 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Uganda	Ndola, Zambia
	Chola 28' Chanda 34' Chitalu 85', 106'		Nasur 14' Obua 74'	Stadium: Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium Attendance: 120,000 Referee: Gratian Matovu (Tanzania)

Zambia won 4–3 on agg. and advanced to the Third Round.

	Nigeria	w/o	Zaire
			Withdrew

Zaire withdrew, so Nigeria advanced to the Third Round automatically.

Third round[]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Guinea	2–3	Tunisia	1–0	1–3
Nigeria	6–2	Ivory Coast	4–0	2–2
Egypt	2–0	Zambia	2–0	0–0

5 June 1977	Guinea	1 – 0	Tunisia	Conakry, Guinea
	77'			Stadium: Stade du 28 Septembre Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Mohamed Larache (Morocco)

19 June 1977	Tunisia	3 – 1	Guinea	Tunis, Tunisia
	Liman 9' Lahzami 59' 62'		11'	Stadium: Stade El Menzah Attendance: 35,248 Referee: Hussein Fahmy Bahig (Egypt)

Tunisia won 3–2 on agg. and advanced to the Final Round.

10 July 1977	Nigeria	4 – 0	Ivory Coast	Lagos, Nigeria
	Usiyan 7', 30' Iwelumo 18' Ojebode 56' (pen.)			Stadium: Surulere Stadium Attendance: 29,815 Referee: Nyirenda Chayu (Zambia)

25 July 1977	Ivory Coast	2 – 2	Nigeria	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
	37', 58'		Odegbami 74' 89'	Stadium: Municipal Stadium Attendance: 2,040 Referee: Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal)

Nigeria won 6–2 on agg. and advanced to the Final Round.

15 July 1977	Egypt	2 – 0	Zambia	Cairo, Egypt
	Gaafar 29' Hammam 49'			Stadium: Nasser Stadium Attendance: 135,746 Referee: Alberto Michelotti (Italy)

31 July 1977	Zambia	0 – 0	Egypt	Lusaka, Zambia
				Stadium: 7 April Stadium Attendance: 130,165 Referee: Gordon (Scotland)

Egypt won 2–0 on agg. and advanced to the Final Round.

Final round[]

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Tunisia	5	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3
2	Egypt	4	4	2	0	2	7	11	−4
3	Nigeria	3	4	1	1	2	5	4	+1

25 September 1977

Tunisia	0 – 0	Nigeria

Stade El Menzah, Tunis

Attendance: 8,229

Referee: John Carpenter (Republic of Ireland)

8 October 1977

Nigeria	4 – 0	Egypt
Chukwu 24' Odegbami 54', 67' 74'

Surulere Stadium, Lagos

Referee: César da Luz Dias Correia (Portugal)

21 October 1977

Egypt	3 – 1	Nigeria
Abdou 11', 27' Mokhtar 50'		Iwelumo 75'

Nasser Stadium, Cairo

Attendance: 190,000

Referee: Emmanuel Platopoulos (Greece)

12 November 1977

Nigeria	0 – 1	Tunisia
		Odiye 61' (o.g.)

Surulere Stadium, Lagos

Attendance: 180,000

Referee: Ernst Dörflinger (Switzerland)

25 November 1977

Egypt	3 – 2	Tunisia
Gaafar 26' (pen.) Abdou 53' El Khatib 83'		Ben Aziza 80' Akid 87'

Nasser Stadium, Cairo

Attendance: 185,000

Referee: Hilmi Ok (Turkey)

11 December 1977

Tunisia	4 – 1	Egypt
Akid 15' Lahzami 42' Ben Aziza 65' Labidi 75'		80'

Stade El Menzah, Tunis

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Gianfranco Menegali (Italy)

Tunisia qualified.

Goalscorers[]

6 goals

Mahmoud El Khatib

4 goals

Segun Odegbami

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Jack Chamangwana (playing against Zambia)
Godwin Odiye (playing against Tunisia)

Notes[]

^ Communications Division (27 July 2007). "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). Good to Know. FIFA. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
^ The second leg was abandoned in the 82nd minute due to riots, and subsequently FIFA awarded a 2–0 victory to Congo.

External links[]

1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) at FIFA.com

[1] Communications Division (27 July 2007). "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). Good to Know. FIFA. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2009.

[2] The second leg was abandoned in the 82nd minute due to riots, and subsequently FIFA awarded a 2–0 victory to Congo.

[1]

[2]

v t 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
AFC and OFC	Qualification
CAF	Qualification
CONCACAF	1977 CONCACAF Championship
CONMEBOL	Qualification
UEFA	Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Play-offs	UEFA v CONMEBOL