Previous champions Egypt failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations as qualification drew to a close on Wednesday.
Egypt's chances of securing the qualifying spot for the best third-placed team were dashed when they surrendered a lead to lose 2-1 at Group G winners Tunisia.
With Tunisia and Senegal having already qualified, Egypt - the most successful team in Afcon history - needed to win by at least two clear goals to earn a reprieve but fell short.
Senegal rounded off their campaign with a 3-0 win at home to Botswana.
Egypt's failure meant that Democratic Republic of Congo take the vacant spot for the best of the rest after they defeated Sierra Leone 3-1 in Group D.
In Group B Mali's 2-0 win over table-toppers Algeria saw them progress at the expense of Malawi who could only draw 0-0 with Ethiopia, while in Group C Gabon overtook Lesotho courtesy of a 4-2 win and Burkina Faso ended their successful campaign with a 1-1 draw against Angola, going through top.
Elsewhere, Cape Verde lost 1-0 at Zambia but both teams had qualified from Group F. The pool's other sides Niger and Mozambique drew 1-1.
