Holders Nigeria were bundled out of the African Nations Cup qualifiers after being held to a 2-2 home draw by South Africa and missing out on a top two place in Group A on Wednesday.
Nigeria will not get the chance to defend their title in Equatorial Guinea next year because the result, coupled with a 1-0 win for Congo in Sudan, means they finish third.
Striker Tokelo Rantie scored twice for South Africa who let a two-goal lead slip and were denied a first ever win in Nigeria by a late leveller.
The teams who have already qualified for the 17 January to 8 February tournament are Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Cape Verde Islands, South Africa, Congo, Tunisia, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Senegal and new hosts Equatorial Guinea.
