| Qualification for championships (CAF) | 
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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
Preliminary round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanzania  | 
2–2 (1–3 p) | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Angola  | 
4–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | |
| Liberia  | 
1–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | |
| Mauritius  | 
3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | |
| Gabon  | 
3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | |
| Ethiopia  | 
w/o | — | — | |
| Guinea  | 
w/o | — | — | |
| Libya  | 
w/o | — | — | |
| Mozambique  | 
w/o | — | — | 
Swaziland won 3–1 on penalty shootout after 2–2 on aggregate.
| Angola  | 4 – 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mendinho  Barbosa Vieira Dias  | 
| Equatorial Guinea  | 0 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
Angola won 4–1 on aggregate.
Mali won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Mauritius  | 3 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Seychelles  | 1 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dorasamy  | 
Mauritius won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Gabon  | 3 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minko  | 
| Burkina Faso  | 1 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gnimassou  | 
Gabon won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Ethiopia  | Cancelled | |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrew | 
Ethiopia advanced after Madagascar withdrew.
Guinea advanced after Gambia withdrew.
Libya advanced after Uganda withdrew.
| Mozambique  | Cancelled | |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrew | 
Mozambique advanced after Mauritania withdrew.
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sudan  | 
1–1 (5–6 p) | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| Ethiopia  | 
2–6 | 1-0 | 1–6 | |
| Guinea  | 
1–4 | 1–1 | 0–3 | |
| Gabon  | 
1–1 (5–3 p) | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| Mali  | 
1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Angola  | 
1–6 | 0–2 | 1–4 | |
| Swaziland  | 
1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |
| Mauritius  | 
1–5 | 1–4 | 0–1 | |
| Mozambique  | 
0–4 | 0–1 | 0–3 | |
| Senegal  | 
w/o | — | — | |
| Morocco  | 
w/o | — | — | |
| Zaire  | 
w/o | — | — | 
Kenya won 6–5 on penalty shootout after 1–1 on aggregate.
| Egypt  | 6 – 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Abdel-Hameed  El-Kass Hassan  | 
Egypt won 6–2 on aggregate.
Nigeria won 4–1 on aggregate.
Gabon won 5–3 on penalty shootout after 1–1 on aggregate.
| Mali  | 0 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
Mali won after 1–0 on aggregate.
| Angola  | 0 – 2 | |
|---|---|---|
Ivory Coast won 6–1 on aggregate.
Malawi won 3–1 on aggregate.
Zimbabwe won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Mozambique  | 0 – 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zambia  | 3 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Malitoli  | 
Zambia won 4–0 on aggregate.
Senegal advanced after Togo withdrew.
Morroco advanced after Libya withdrew.
| Zaire  | Cancelled | |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrew | 
Zaire advanced after Sierra Leone withdrew.
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senegal  | 
4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Malawi  | 
2–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 | |
| Egypt  | 
2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | |
| Nigeria  | 
4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Mali  | 
3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | |
| Zambia  | 
4–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 
Senegal won 4–1 on aggregate.
Kenya won 3–2 on aggregate.
Egypt won 2–0 on aggregate.
Nigeria won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Mali  | 2 – 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sanogo  Samaké  | 
Traoré  Yaohua  | 
| Ivory Coast  | 3 – 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Traoré  Amani  | 
Cissé  | 
Ivory Coast won 5–3 on aggregate.
| Gabon  | 2 – 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minko  Amégasse  | 
Chansa  | 
Zambia won 4–2 on aggregate.
Qualified teams

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