MALAWI were among the last sides to secure a berth at next year's Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals despite losing their final qualifying match on Saturday.

MALAWI were among the last sides to secure a berth at next year's Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals despite losing their final qualifying match on Saturday.

Malawi finished third in their World Cup qualifying group, which doubles as Afcon qualification, despite a 1-0 loss in Burkina Faso because Guinea, who were one point behind them in the Group E standings, also lost in their last match.

Guinea were beaten 3-0 by an injury-hit Ivory Coast team in Abidjan.

Malawi qualify for only the second time and join Mozambique, Togo and Zambia as the four countries who grabbed the last available berths on Saturday. The preliminaries for the 2010 World Cup finals were used to determine the field for January's tournament in Angola.

Mozambique's 1-0 win over Tunisia in Maputo ensured their first finals appearance since 1998 while Zambia qualify for a 10th appearance.

Zambia drew 0-0 in Rwanda to finish ahead of the East African minnows in Group C. Emmanuel Adebayor's goal against Gabon ensured Togo finished third in Group A.

The qualifiers are: Algeria, Angola (hosts), Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia. - Reuters