Libya's hopes of reaching next year's African Cup of Nations in Gabon were dealt a severe blow after they suffered a 2-1 loss away to Sao Tome while Group E joint leaders Congo and Zambia played out a 1-1 draw in Wednesday's qualifying games.

Sao Tome claimed their first Group F victory after scoring twice in the last six minutes to complete a superb comeback after Libya went ahead in the first half via a goal from Faisal Al Badri.

An own goal from Ahmed Al Trbi on 84 minutes and a strike from Jose dos Santos four minutes later condemned Libya to a third consecutive defeat which left them at the bottom of the group with no points.

Cape Verde and Morocco, who both have six points, face off in a top-of-the-group clash on Saturday.

In Group E, Congo and Zambia remained on top with five points each following their draw. Winston Kalengo put Zambia ahead in the 59^th minute but Jordan Massengo secured a share of spoils on 74 minutes.

Guinea-Bissau closed to within one point from the joint leaders after they beat Kenya 1-0.

Earlier in the day, Benin earned a 2-1 away victory over South Sudan to move top of Group C with five points, although Mali (4 points) will overtake them if they overcome Equatorial Guinea on Friday.

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