The biggest winners of the opening round were Ethiopia and Malawi, who defeated South Sudan and Zimbabwe, respectively, by significant margins. In the overall score, Ethiopia defeated their South Sudanese opponents 5-0. Ethiopia scored five goals in the return match without receiving a response after the first game ended 0–0, setting up a matchup with Rwanda in the second round of qualifying.

Tanzania overcame Somalia both at home and away to advance 3-1 overall and will now face Uganda.

Burundi and Djibouti have to be separated by a penalty shootout. The latter had won the first leg by a score of two to one, but Djibouti had also achieved a score of two to one in the second game and went on to win 4-2 on penalties. Sudan and Djibouti will now compete in the second qualifying round.
Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Guinea Bissau all advanced to the next round of qualifying in the West Zone A matches after defeating Liberia, Cape Verde, and the Gambia, respectively. At the Samuel Kayon Doe Sports Complex, Senegal defeated Liberia 3-0 in the first leg. The local Terenga lions advanced and will play Guinea in the second round, after losing the rematch 2-1 at home.

Despite Cape Verde winning the second game two to one, Sierra Leone advanced despite winning the first leg 2-0. Now, Mali, the 2020 edition's runners-up, will take against Sierra Leone. For their part, Guinea Bissau defeated Gambia 5#3 on penalties to secure a wager against Mauritania. Gambia and Guinea Bissau had each won a match by a score of 1-0.

Ghana defeated Benin by a score of four to zero in the West Zone B. The domestic Black Stars defeated Nigeria in the second round with victories of 3-0 at home and 1-0 away.In the other results, Angola defeated Mauritius three goals to zero overall, South Africa just avoided Comoros by one goal overall, and Botswana defeated Eswatini using the away goal rule. Botswana was held to a 0-0 draw at home, but Eswatini's home encounter in Orlando Stadium saw two goals either way.

Madagascar advanced thanks to four goals scored in each leg compared to none from the Seychelles, and Malawi eliminated Zimbabwe with a 6-0 goal total.Mozambique shocked Zambia at the National heroes stadium in Lusaka. Both sides had played a zero all tie in the away game at the Estadio Nacional do Zimpeto, but Pachoio Lau Ha King scored the lone goal for Mozambique in the return game as Zambia bowed out in front of their home crowd.

The first leg second round matches will take place from August 26 to 28, with the second leg coming up between September 2 to 4.

Countries like Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad, DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan,will make their entry, after standby in the previous round 

The 2023 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship will be hosted by Algeria, who are automatically qualified for the competition.

Morocco and Libya, under the North zone (UNAF), are also qualified for the 2023 event.