Holders Egypt qualified for the 2008 Nations Cup finals with a 1-0 win against Botswana in Cairo concluding their laboured campaign.
The Pharaohs played well and should have won by a much bigger margin, but were wasteful in front of goal.
With strikers Emad Moteab and Amr Zaki firing blanks, coach Hassan Shehata pulled the pair off and replaced them with two midfielders.
The goal was to come from one of the substitutes, as Ismaili midfielder Mohamed Fadle headed home in the 76th minute.
Needing a win to qualify, the Zebras defended for much of the match but did produce some useful counter-attacks.
A crowd of just 7,000 watched the match at the 80,000-seater Cairo International Stadium.
Consolation for Mauritania
Mauritania moved from bottom place to finish second in the group with a 2-1 win against Burundi in Nouakchott.
It was the first game in charge for coach Birama Gueye, in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 7,000.
With Burundi looking lethargic, Pascal Dominique opened the scoring on 32 minutes, and Ahmed Teguedi extending the lead two minutes after the break.
Burundi, who had a chance of qualifying, pulled one back in the dying minutes with a penalty converted by Abdallah Irambona.
Focus now switches to the draw for the finals in Ghana in January.
The sixteen qualifiers will be drawn into four groups of four on Friday at a function in Accra.
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