Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).
The five winners of the preliminary round qualified for the final tournament.
Mauritania advanced to the final tournament after Cameroon was disqualified from the competition due to sanctions imposed by CAF, for their withdrawal from last edition qualifiers.[2]