Egypt came from behind to beat Guinea 2-1 on Wednesday and secure a record-extending 26th appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals as they made sure of top spot in their qualifying group with one match to play in the preliminary competition.
Egypt are the eighth country to qualify for the 24-team finals, to be hosted in the Ivory Coast next year.
Defeat for Guinea, on nine points, opens the door for one of the other two teams in the group – Ethiopia and Malawi – who each have three and play on Tuesday. The winner of that match then has chance to catch up but a draw would see Guinea qualify.