Ghana beat Comoros 2-0 to head through to the final group stage which will decide the five African teams at the 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation.
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The 2012 African champions emerged 3-0 aggregate winners after winning home and away matches, as Burundi were outdone by a loss they suffered at home to lose narrowly 5-4 to their opponents.
Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, who have all played at previous World Cup finals tournaments, will be among 20 countries in the draw for the next round having won their two-legged ties.
Cameroon were held to a goalless draw at home against Niger but a 3-0 win in Friday’s first leg laid the platform for their success.
Nigeria beat a spirited Swaziland 2-0 in Port Harcourt with goals from Moses Simon and Efe Ambrose after a goalless draw in the first leg. An own goal gave South Africa a 1-0 victory over Angola in Durban for a 4-1 aggregate triumph.
Uganda Cranes was the only side to book their place in group stages after a 4-0 aggregate win against Togo.
It seemed like a walk in the park for Tanzania during the first leg as they went 2-0 up, only for the Northern African side to level matters, before following up with a sound 7-0 win in the second leg.
Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam and Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani bagged two goals each, including a penalty apiece, as Algeria ran riot in Blida after leading 3-0 at half-time.
Cheick Diabate and Bakary Sako scored in the first half to help Mali erase a deficit from the first leg as a 2-0 win over Botswana put them through 3-2 on aggregate.
The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia managed a 2-1 victory over a tricky Mauritania outfit to add to the 2-1 away victory that they registered in the first match, allowing for a comfortable progression to the next phase.
Siam Ben Youssef and Saad Bguir supplied the goals in the second half to complete the 4-2 aggregate victory.
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The visiting Cape Verde side knocked Kenya out of the running thanks to two excellent goals from Heldon Ramos, ensuring a continued run towards an attempt at qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
