Senegal were held 0-0 by minnows Malawi in Bafoussam on Tuesday despite the return of stars Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye, but still won Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Brave Malawi finished third and must wait until Thursday to see if they will be among the best four third-placed teams and qualify for the second round.
Senegal came to the Cup of Nations as one of the favourites but have won only once and scored only once — from a Sadio Mane penalty — in three matches.
The Teranga Lions, runners-up to Algeria at the last Cup of Nations in 2019, needed 97 minutes to beat Zimbabwe, and were held by Guinea and Malawi, who are 109 places lower in the world rankings.
Malawi believed they should have been awarded a penalty in the second half when Gomezgani Chirwa had his shirt pulled by Bouna Sarr, but the referee disagreed after looking at the VAR monitor.
As Senegal sought a late goal, they introduced midfielder Pape Gueye off the bench in place of ineffective Boulaye Dia.
Gueye, barred by Fifa last week over a disputed transfer from Watford to Marseille, took his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and won.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy and Napoli defender Koulibaly missed the first two matches and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Gueye the second due to Covid-19.
