Veteran striker Sadio Mané bagged a brace on Tuesday night as Senegal dispatched Mauritania 4-0 to power over the line to a third successive World Cup. Fellow West African powerhouse Côte d'Ivoire joined them at next summer's football fest in the United States, Canada and Mexico following a controlled 3-0 dismissal of Kenya.
In Dakar, Mané was the star of the show at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium.
The 33-year scored his 47th international goal on the stroke of half-time to open the scoring. And within minutes of the restart, he notched up his 48th.
Iliaman Ndiaye and Habib Diallo added the gloss for the hosts.
Pape Bouna Thiaw's squad ended their 10 Group B matches with 24 points from seven wins and three draws.
Democratic Republic of Congo finished on 22 points after Theo Bongonda's strike in the 29th minute edged them past Sudan at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa.
Cote d'Ivoire beat Senegal on penalties to reach last eight at Cup of Nations
Kessié starts the party
Côte d'Ivoire's only threat to a fourth appearance at the World Cup lay 3,500km away in Franceville where second-placed Gabon were entertaining Burundi.
An Ivorian slip-up at the arena where they outwitted Nigeria to claim their third Africa Cup of Nations title in February 2024 would allow the Gabonese to progress to their first World Cup with a win.
Franck Kessié, who scored in Côte d'Ivoire's 2-1 victory over Nigeria, eased the nerves of the partisans at the Alassane Outtara Stadium with a strike in the seventh minute.
Yan Diomande doubled the advantage in the 54th minute and Amand Diallo hit the third five minutes from time to make proceedings in Franceville irrelevant.
Two goals late in the match from Bryan Meyo Ngoua and Mario Lemina furnished Gabon with a win and a points haul of 25 in Group F to send them into a play-off with three of the other best runners-up.
The winners of that tournament will advance to a play-off with a team from another confederation for a slot at the World Cup.
Hosts' zany triumph caps feral month at Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire
South Africa advance
Earlier on Tuesday, South Africa claimed a spot at the World Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010 with a 3-0 win over Rwanda in Mbombela.
The victory, coupled with Nigeria's 4-0 romp over Group E pacesetters Benin, allowed Hugo Broos' charges to claim supremacy with 18 points from their 10 matches. Nigeria were a point behind in second.
It's wonderful," Broos told South African broadcaster SABC after the victory as fireworks exploded around the stadium. "We all knew that we could do it. We believed in ourselves.
"You could see from the beginning that the players wanted to win that game.
"The only thing that could stop us was what was happening in Nigeria. Nigeria did what they had to do in case we lost but we did what we had to do. So we're going to the World Cup. It's fantastic."
