Former champions Algeria crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday after losing 1-0 to Mauritania, who are 75 places lower in the world rankings.
Captain Mohamed Delllah Yaly scored after 37 minutes in Bouake for the Group D outsiders, who will fill one of four places reserved for third-placed finishers.
Angola defeated Burkina Faso 2-0 in the same group and topped the final standings with seven points. Burkina Faso (4) and Mauritania (3) also advanced.
Photo: AFP
Champions in 1990 and 2019, Algeria traveled to the Ivory Coast among the favorites to win the African showpiece only to depart without winning a match.
After draws with Angola and Burkina Faso, they were stunned by Mauritania, who had never won a Cup of Nations match in eight previous attempts spanning three editions.
The winners were constantly on the back foot, especially in the closing stages, but showed defensive resilience to pull off a famous victory.
In Group C, Cameroon scored twice with time ticking away to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win over the Gambia, secure a round-of-16 place and eliminate Ghana from the tournament.
In an amazing finish, Ebrima Colley scored on 85 minutes to put the Gambia 2-1 up, only for Joseph Gomez to concede an own-goal before a stoppage-time Christopher Wooh goal won a thriller.
Defending champions Senegal beat Guinea 2-0 in the other Group C match to finish with nine points and Cameroon edged Guinea for second place on goals scored after both collected four points.
The Gambia lost all three games to finish pointless, but played their part in one of the most remarkable matches in the tournament.
Victory for five-time champions Cameroon meant four-time winners Ghana were eliminated after finishing third with only two points in Group B.
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