(CNN) -- Cape Verde and Ethiopia showed over the weekend that David remains very capable of dealing Goliath a knockout blow in international football as both nations advanced to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Cameroon missed out on a second successive Cup of Nations tournament after a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Cape Verde, which has a population of 500,000.
Trailing 2-0 following last week's first-leg loss in Praia, the Indomitable Lions fell further behind when striker Heldon Nhuck gave Cape Verde a surprise 1-0 lead in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde.
Achille Emana equalized for Cameroon before half-time but, despite boasting the attacking talent of former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o, the home team were unable to find the back of the net.
Earlier this year Zambia won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time after beating the Ivory Coast 8-7 in a dramatic penalty shootout in Sunday's final in Libreville.
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A late goal from 16-year-old debutant Fabrice Olinga, who is a graduate of the "Samuel Eto'o Foundation", finally put Cameroon ahead in the match, but it wasn't enough to prevent Cape Verde reaching their Africa Cup of Nations.
Also through to January's 16-team tournament in South Africa is Ethiopia, who beat Sudan 2-0 to advance on away goals, to reach the tournament for the first time in 30 year.
Ethiopia lost the first leg 5-3, but progressed courtesy of goals from Adane Girma and Saladin Seid in Addis Ababa.
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The tournament, won by Zambia in 2012, is ordinarily held every two years, but it is being staged in 2013 to avoid the competition clashing with future World Cups and the European Championships.
Angola overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit to beat Zimbabwe on away goals. Former Manchester United striker Manucho scored two headed goals inside the first eight minutes to give his country a 2-0 win.
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Algeria eased through with a 2-0 victory at home to Libya, wrapping up a 3-0 aggregate success.
This edition of the tournament had been due to be staged in Libya, but it was switched to South Africa due to the civil uprising in the country.
Burkina Faso reached a third consecutive Cup of Nations by beating Central African Republic 3-2 on aggregate.
Central African Republic went 2-0 ahead in the tie and 1-0 up in the match before the hosts replied through Alain Troare.
Moumouni Dagano scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-2 on aggregate before Traore scored his second and Burkina Faso's third to deny Central African Republic a first Cup of Nations appearance.
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A goal from Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor proved crucial for Togo, who won Sunday's second leg against Gabon 2-1 to seal a 3-2 aggregate success.
Niger and Equatorial Guinea complete the tournament line-up following victories against Guinea and Democratic Republic of Congo respectively.
The draw for the 29th Africa Cup of Nations will take place in the South African city of Durban on October 24.
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Togo's star player is Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor. He is reverred by the country's football fans, with this banner saying: "Adebayor: Togo's only hope".
And it was Adebayor who proved the difference, scoring the goal which sealed a 2-1 win for Togo on the day and a 3-2 triumph on aggregate.
Saturday's playoff matches were overshadowed by events in Dakar, where riots caused Senegal's clash with Ivory Coast to be abandoned.
Ivory Coast were 2-0 up and 6-2 ahead on aggregate when the match was stopped. The Confederation of African football are yet to announce whether Senegal will be sanctioned for the disruption.
It was a poignant win for Zambia, who lost 18 members of their squad in a plane crash in Gabon in 1993.
The final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, which hosted the 2010 World Cup final, on February 10 2013.
French coach Herve Renard is still in charge of the defending champions, who travel to Kampala to play Uganda on Saturday, holding a 1-0 first-leg lead. This is Renards' second spell as Zambia coach, with the 44-year-old having also been with the team between 2008 and 2010.
Ivory Coast fans in the city of Abidjan were inconsolable after the defeat in February. The 1992 champions have failed to deliver success despite having star players such as Didier Drogba and brothers Kolo and Yaya Toure.
Now playing for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, Drogba could have put the Ivory Coast ahead midway through the final's second half, but fired his penalty high over the crossbar. The striker also missed a spot-kick in the Elephants' 2006 shootout defeat to Egypt. This is likely to be Drogba's last Cup of Nations and, as such, this represents the final chance for the Ivorian golden generation to at last win something.
Ivory Coast's fans were in a better mood after the 4-2 win over Senegal at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan in the first leg of the play-off in September for next year's tournament.
Ivory Coast are now coached by former France international Sabri Lamouchi. It is Lamouchi's first coaching role following a playing career that saw the 40-year-old play for Auxerre, Monaco, Parma, Inter Milan and Marseille.
Newcastle's Ivory Coast international Cheick Tiote (right) will be up against his club teammate Papiss Cisse (left) of Senegal on Saturday in the second-leg playoff.
In September, Cape Verde produced a huge upset with their 2-0 home win over Cameroon. Anzhi Makhachkala striker Samuel Eto'o had refused a call-up for the match over his unhappiness with the Cameroon Football Association's imposition of an eight-match ban for his role in a players' strike in 2011. However he has made himself available for the second leg.
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