SENEGAL led a list of six nations into the Africa Cup of Nations finals on Saturday as they eliminated record winners Egypt with a 1-0 win in Cairo to qualify for the tournament in January.

The Lions of Teranga ensured they would finish in the top two in Group G on a busy day of qualifiers which also saw Gabon, SA, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and 2012 winners Zambia book their tickets, with six more berths to be decided on the last day of qualifiers on Wednesday.

A 2-0 win in Congo Brazzaville for defending champions Nigeria helped them revive their IIIchances but Ghana lost in a surprise setback in Uganda and must win in midweek to be sure they qualify.

Striker Mame Diouf returned to Senegal's line-up after injury last month to score the 18th-minute goal that sealed qualification and knocked out seven-time champions Egypt.

Bafana Bafana were the first side on Saturday to add themselves to the list of finalists which already had Algeria and the Cape Verde Islands through last month. Tunisia advanced on Friday and Equatorial Guinea were included in the field as new hosts after Morocco pulled out because of ebola fears.

Goals from midfielder Thulani Serero and striker Tokelo Rantie ensured a 2-1 win at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban for Bafana over Sudan. The result saw SA top Group A.

Nigeria will finish second if they beat Bafanaon Wednesday at home after goals from Aaron Samuel and Ikechukwu Uche secured Saturday's win away in Pointe-Noire over the Congolese.

Vincent Aboubakar scored the only goal of the game for Cameroon 20 minutes from time at home against the Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure top place in their group.

Only one goal was needed to settle the top two places in Group C as Gabon's goalless draw in Angola confirmed their qualification, along with that of Burkina Faso. Zambia made sure of their progress with a 1-0 away win over Mozambique in Maputo.

The finals will be played in Equatorial Guinea from January 17 to February 8.