Reigning African champions Egypt cannot qualify for the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

The Pharaohs are bottom of their group with only two points from five games and were beaten 2-1 by Sierra Leone at the weekend.

But Senegal have secured their place in the finals with a fine 2-0 win over DR Congo in Dakar.

Elsewhere, Libya claimed an impressive 1-0 win over Mozambique, Malawi and Tunisia drew 0-0 and Cameroon and Ivory Coast both scored 5 goals unanswered.

Egypt were already struggling to make it to the finals but their defeat by Sierra Leone means they cannot make it out of Group G.

A team of Under-23 players, bolstered by veteran captain Ahmed Hassan, went behind to the home team in Freetown through Sherrif Suma’s early goal.

The Pharaohs pulled one back thanks to Mohsen Maruwan and going into stoppage time it was tied at 1-1 but then Sierra Leone were awarded a penalty and Mohamed Bangura stepped up to earn a victory for the Leone Stars which gives them a continued chance of making it to the finals.

Senegal are through to the finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon next year after a strong performance in Dakar to beat DR Congo 2-0 on Saturday.

Two goals for Moussa Sow secured them an unassailable lead at the top of Group E on 13 points, five clear of Cameroon in second place.

Cameroon took their time to get going against Mauritius in Yaounde, the game was a remarkable 0-0 at halftime.

But the Indomitable Lions banged in five goals in the second half,  including a brace from Eric Choupa-Moting,  to take them to 8 points in the table.

That means they still have a chance of going through as one of the best runners-up,  but it is a slim one.

Libya  continued their qualifying campaign despite all the troubles facing their country.

Their game against Mozambique was moved to Cairo and played behind closed doors,  and the Libyans have kept their campaign on track with a 1-0 win.

Rabiyah Lafi got the only goal of the game and the result means that they will qualify if they beat Zambia in their final pool match next month.

The Libyan team were wearing a new national team strip, sang a new national anthem and played under the flag of the rebel National Transitional Council.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Tanzania and Algeria drew 1-1 in Dar-es-Salaam in Group D – a result which leaves both sides still well behind the joint group leaders Morocco and Central African Republic, who play on Sunday.

Kenya left it late to go beat Guinea Bissau in Group J- it was 1-1 going into stoppage time at the end of their match when Denis Oliech stepped up with a drmaatic winner.

The Harambee Stars are now second in their group with seven points, behind Uganda who can qualify with only a draw against Angola. in their game on Sunday.

Malawi have the edge in the race towards the automatic qualification spot for second place in Group K.

The Flames were held to a 0-0 draw by Tunisia on Saturday, a result which leaves them tied on 11 points each behind the already qualified Botswana.

But with head-to-head results counting in the event of a tie, Malawi’s two away goals in their 2-2 draw in Tunis would put them ahead.

In Group A meanwhile Mali took a giant step towards qualification with a 3-0 win over Cape Verde in Bamako.

Cheick Diabate got two quick goals towards the end of the first half to put them in front and the win was sealed by Mahamand Traore with a stylish finish early in the second.

The Malians must wait until the outcome of Sunday’s match between Zimbabwe and Liberia in Harare to fully assess their chances of making it to the finals.

Ivory Coast have already made sure of their place at the finals but they reaffirmed their quality with a 5-0 demolition of Rwanda in Kigali in Group H.

Arsena’s Gervinho created most of the success for the Elephants and he helped himself to a goal right at the end to go with two from Wilfred Bony and one each from Didier Ya Konan and Salomon Kalou.

Kolo Toure, returning from a six-month ban for failing a drugs test, was part of the squad but did not play.

Namibia got a late win against The Gambia in Windhoek. Tangeni Shipahu got the only goal of the game, which puts the Brave Warriors level with The Gambia on 3 points each in this three-team pool – well behind the leaders Burkina Faso.

But this group is confused by Namibia’s ongoing claim that the Burkinabe fielded an ineligible player against them.

Their appeal to Caf has yet to be decided upon, but if the governing body of African football dismiss their claims then the Burkinabe have already done enough to go through to the finals from this group.