The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon secured a mammoth victory against Ivory Coast to leapfrog the Elephants and advance to the final qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World cup as Group D winners.

Ivory Coast went into the game on 13 points, one clear of home side Cameroon and needing to avoid defeat to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

But it was Cameroon that secured the victory that needed, Karl Toko Ekambi’s 21st-minute goal proving enough to kill the Elephants and secured passage to the final playoff round for the Elephants.

Elsewhere, Algeria survived a spirited fight from visitors Burkina Faso to book their place in the next round after a thrilling 2-2 draw in Algiers.

Riyah Mahrez’s opener for the hosts was cancelled by Zakaria Sanogo before Sofiane Feghouli restored the host’s lead after the interval but Issouffou Dayo scored a late penalty to set up a nail biting finish.

Algeria held on to finish as Group A winners with 14 points, two more than the Burkinabes.

Tunisia also progressed to the final qualifying round as Group B winners with an easy 3-1 win against Zambia to finish two points ahead of Equatorial Guinea who could only draw 1-1 at bottom side Mauritania.

Aissa Laidouni, Mohamed Drager, Ali Maaloul were on target for the Tunisians who finished with 13 points while Fashion Sakala scored the lone effort for the visitors.

Cameroon, Algeria and Tunisia join fellow group winners Nigeria, Mali, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and DR Congo in the final round.

The teams will be drawn against each other, with the top five ranked teams facing the bottom five in a two-legged playoff next March for one of five spots for Africa at the World Cup in Qatar.

Currently, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria are the top five ranked African teams. Draws for the playoff round will hold on 18 December 2021.