Four more COSAFA nations have won their place in the second stage of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a fifth set to join them imminently.

Namibia, Botswana and Madagascar all eased into the second stage, and are joined by island nation Comoros, who stunned fellow Southern Africans Lesotho.

Swaziland still need to play the second leg of their tie against Djibouti, but with a 6-0 lead and the home tie to come, they are all but assured of a place in the next stage.

Namibia defeated Gambia 2-1 in Windhoek to seal their place in the second round, where they will face Guinea for a place in the pool stages.

That victory gave Namibia a 3-2 aggregate success and relief for the current COSAFA Cup holders and 2016 hosts of the Southern African championship.

Madagascar were held to a 2-2 draw by Central African Republic but claimed a 5-2 aggregate success having done the hard work away from home in the first leg.

They advance to a meeting with west African giants Senegal.

Botswana won 3-1 at home to Eritrea for a 5-1 aggregate win and now face Mali in the next round.

Comoros secured the most stunning result with a 1-1 draw in Lesotho. That was the aggregate score too, with the islanders advancing on the away goals rule.

Their prize is a meeting with Ghana in the next stage, while Swaziland will set up a meeting with Nigeria should they advance.

Other COSAFA sides already through to the second round are Zambia, who face Sudan, Mozambique, who meet Gabon, and South Africa, who take on fellow Southern African side Angola.

Teams that exited in the first round are Lesotho, Seychelles (who lost to Burundi), Mauritius (who lost to Kenya) and Malawi (lost to Tanzania).