Nigeria have failed to qualify for the 2015 African Cup of Nations after drawing 2-2 with South Africa on Wednesday.
The Super Eagles needed to better Congo’s result to make it through from Group A but went 2-0 down in Uyo after two goals from Bournemouth’s Tokeo Rantie before battling back to earn a point through two late goals from Hull’s Sone Aluko.
But that was not enough as Congo’s win in Sudan ensured that the Red Devils finished as runners-up behind South Africa and qualify for January’s tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
Elsewhere, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Mali also booked their places in the finals in the final round of qualification matches.
Guinea beat Uganda 2-0 in Casablanca to finish second in Group E behind Ghana, who topped the standings after a 3-1 home win over Togo. Guinea had to move their match to a neutral venue because of a ban on playing at home where the deadly Ebola virus has claimed more than 1,000 lives.
The game was held in Morocco, who were stripped of hosting the tournament last week after asking for a postponement amid fears that fans travelling to the finals could spread the virus to their country.
Mali ended Algeria’s 100% record in Group B to book their place with Seydou Keita scoring a first-half penalty and Mustapha Yatabare adding a second after the break in a 2-0 win in Bamako.
Ivory Coast needed only to draw with already-qualified Cameroon and squeezed through in a goalless clash against a side reduced to 10 men for the last half-hour after captain Stephane Mbia was sent off. A pitch invasion at the final whistle saw hundreds of fans chased by police, with some struck by batons as they tried to escape.
The top two teams in each of the seven groups qualified plus the best third-placed finisher, which was the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two goals from Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie in a 3-1 home win over Sierra Leone helped them to nine points from their six matches, but they had to wait several hours for their place to be confirmed.
Record winners Egypt could have snatched their spot had they won by two goals away in Tunisia, but they fell to a 2-1 defeat despite leading 1-0 at half-time.
Algeria and the Cape Verde Islands qualified after just four group matches last month and were joined after the weekend’s penultimate round by Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia.
New hosts Equatorial Guinea, disqualified in the preliminary knockout rounds for fielding an illegible player, have also been handed a place at the finals.
