Last season's top scorer in France's Ligue 1 showcased his growing impact on African football by netting either side of halftime in Dakar to clinch top spot for Senegal in Group E.

They join Botswana, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast in securing places at the 16-team finals, along with co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Burkina Faso qualified earlier without kicking a ball as Namibia beat the Gambia 1-0 in Windhoek on the penultimate weekend of the preliminaries.

The achievements of Burkina Faso and Senegal were overshadowed by an emotive victory for Libya, playing with a new team and under a new flag as they kept their Nations Cup hopes alive.

A 1-0 win over Mozambique behind closed doors in Cairo took Libya to the top of Group C.

Holders Egypt are officially out of the competition after losing 2-1 away to Sierra Leone but they were already resigned to elimination and sent an under-23 side to Freetown.

Cameroon hit five goals past Mauritius and the Ivory Coast, without the injured Didier Drogba but inspired by Gervinho, won by the same 5-0 scoreline in Rwanda.

Mali, with Barcelona's Seydou Keita back in their team, edged closer to qualification with a 3-0 home win over the Cape Verde Islands in Bamako while Tunisia resurrected their hopes by drawing 0-0 in Malawi.

Sow's two goals against the Congolese took his tally in the preliminaries to four and emphasized the important role the former French junior international has assumed in the Senegal side over the last year.

The Lille player forms part of a potent strike force that has delivered 14 goals in the qualifiers, a total bettered only by the Ivorians who are in a much less combative group.

Rabiyah Lafi is the toast of war-torn Libya after a 30th minute goal ensured a vital three points for their makeshift team in neutral Egypt.

More places in the finals could be decided on Sunday with 10 more qualifying games scheduled.