Ivory Coast, who headed into the final game with a one-point advantage over Cameroon, needed just a draw in Yaounde but ended on the losing side to miss out on the World Cup for the second consecutive time.

Lyon forward Karl Toko Ekambi netted the winner on 21 minutes, collecting a low cross in the area before rifling a powerful shot into the top corner of the net.

Cameroon topped Group D with 15 points, two ahead of Ivory Coast.

In Group B, Tunisia needed a win to guarantee their progress to the March playoff regardless of how Equatorial Guinea fared against Mauritania.

Equatorial Guinea stunned Tunisia with a 1-0 win on Saturday to go level on 10 points with the North Africans but could only draw 1-1 with Mauritania on Tuesday.

Tunisia took full advantage to down Zambia, thanks to first-half goals from Aissa Laidouni, Mohamed Drager and Ali Maaloul. They finished on top of the group with 13 points, two clear of Equatorial Guinea.

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