Zimbabwe finished their Group G campaign winless and at the bottom after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Ethiopia at National Sports Stadium in Harare.
SuperSport United winger Kudakwashe Mahachi broke the deadlock for the Warriors six minutes before the half-time break but Abubeker Nasir Ahmed snatched the equaliser for the Walia ibex four minutes before time.
Democratic Republic of Congo qualified for the final round after beating Benin 2-0 in a top-of-the-table Group J clash at Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecote.
Dieumerci Mbokani got the opener for Congo in the tenth minute from the penalty spot and Ben Malango doubled their lead in the last quarter of an hour.
Congo qualified for the play-off round one point ahead of second-placed Benin.
Mali, who were already through to the final round, ended their Group E campaign unbeaten after edging Uganda 1-0 at Stade d'Agadir.
Kalifa Coulibaly scored the only goal of the game for Mali in the 18th minute and that was enough for Les Aigles, who won the group by seven points.
Tanzania missed out on qualifying for the final round by three points in Group J after they were held to 1-1 draw by Madagascar at Stade Municipal de Mahamasina.
Simon Msuva broke the deadlock for Taifa Stars in the 25th minute but Hakim Djamel Abdallah equalised for Madagascar 16 minutes before time.
Barea were reduced to ten men in the last seven minutes after Pascal Razakanantenaina got a second booking and was sent off but they held on to the share of the spoils.