Angola beat 10-man Togo 3-2 in the African Nations Cup only to be pipped by the Democratic Republic of Congo for a place in the knockout phase.
Both teams finished with four points from three points in a pool won by four-time champions Cameroon, but the Congolese squeezed through as Group B runners-up on goal difference.
DR Congo scored two goals and conceded two while Angola scored four and conceded five.
It will anger Angola that they had a legitimate first-half goal by captain Fabrice 'Akwa' Maieco disallowed with television replays showing he was well onside when the ball was played through.
Cameroon face Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals while DR Congo must try and contain Group A winners and hosts Egypt in matches scheduled for the Egyptian capital next weekend.
Togo star Emmanuel Adebayor was a notable absentee, reportedly because of an injury, but rumours were rife that the striker who recently joined Arsenal from Monaco had quit the squad.
Adebayor and coach Stephen Keshi have been at war since the tournament began with the Nigerian branding his best known player a 'cry baby' for refusing to start against DR Congo last weekend.
Angola attacked from the start and should have gone ahead after eight minutes at a near-deserted Cairo Stadium only for 'Akwa' to fire wide with only goalkeeper Ouro Tchangirou to beat.
But the Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes) were ahead a minute later as a Paulo Figueiredo pass set up Flavio Amado, who calmly chipped the ball into the net.
Massamesso Tchangai, the sole Italy-based member of the Togo squad, came close to levelling with a header off a corner that brought a superb reflex save from club-less Joao Ricardo.
An Amado header flew just over and 'Akwa' was guilty of poor finishing again in an incident-packed opening half while Jacques Romao just failed to connect with a Yao Senaya cross at the other end.
Qatar-based 'Akwa', whose five goals were central to the shock qualification of Angola for the 2006 World Cup at the expense of mighty Nigeria, was having no luck up front.
Timing his run perfectly, the dreadlocked skipper burst unopposed down the middle, rounded Tchangirou and tapped the ball into the net only for his effort to be wrongly ruled offside by the Tunisian assistant referee.
Togo equalised one minute later when Mohamed Coubadja held off Carlos 'Kali' Alonso and delicately chipped the ball over Ricardo to give the west Africans their first goal of the tournament.
Both goalkeepers made notable saves before Togo were reduced to 10 men with just 30 minutes gone when the Moroccan referee issued a second yellow card to Kassim Guyazou for a deliberate handball and a red followed.
Amado, no stranger to Egypt as he plays for champions Al-Ahly, put his country ahead again after 39 minutes with a fierce close-range shot after a goalmouth scramble.
Angola pressed forward continuously after half-time and their failure to score led to changes from coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves with captain 'Akwa' among those taken off.
When the ball did enter the net again it was 10-man Togo who celebrated as Cherif Toure Mamam got to a low cross first, held off a defender and slammed the ball past Ricardo from close range.
Tchangirou made two fine saves in quick succession as Angola kept plugging away, but was helpless when Norberto 'Maurito' Mulenessa scored to set up a tense finish.
