Egypt survive Benin scare to reach Cup of Nations quarter-finals

Egypt 3-1 Benin: Mohamed Salah put the icing on the cake for Pharaohs in extra time - but the seven-time champions were made to work hard for a place in the quarter-finals

(AFP/Getty)

Mohamed Salah scored with the last kick in extra time to seal's Egypt's 3-1 win over Benin in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 on Monday.

The Pharaohs dug deep after being surprisingly held to 1-1 in normal time after Benin's Jodel Dossou pounced on a rebound to level the game in the 83rd minute.

Egypt dominated from the start but had to wait till the 69th minute before Marwan Attia finally made the breakthrough.

Attia was involved again when Yasser Ibrahim met his cross with a looping header to send the ball inside the top left corner in the seventh minute of extra time.

Salah had the final say on a counterattack, shooting past Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou from outside the penalty box after Zizo played him through. It was his third goal of the tournament and 10th at Afcon.

Egypt, who have played every game in Agadir, will stay in the coastal city for a quarterfinal on Saturday against Burkina Faso or defending champions Ivory Coast, who meet on Tuesday.

Benin’s solitary win in the group stage, 1-0 over Botswana, was enough to reach the last 16.

Egypt were far from their best in Monday’s clash as they squandered chances early on, the most egregious coming when Omar Marmoush broke through but failed to shoot before Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou emerged to stop him.

(AP)

Both sides were dealt serious injury blows, with Benin striker Aiyegun Tosin taken off on a stretcher before the break, having appeared to have aggravated an existing leg injury.

Egypt left-back Mohamed Hamdy also required a stretcher to leave the field with what looked like a serious left knee injury after his foot connected with Dokou Dodo's head. Dodo was fit to continue but Hamdy covered his eyes as he was carried off while receiving well wishes from teammates.

The breakthrough came when Mohamed Hany pulled the ball back behind the penalty area and Attia curled it inside the top left corner with the side of his boot.

(Reuters)

But Dossou sent the game to extra time after goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy could only claw at a deflected goal-ward shot from Junior Olaitan.

The Pharaohs will have an extra day of rest before facing their next opponents as they bid for a record-extending eighth title.

Nigeria faced Mozambique in Fez later Monday; the winner of that last 16 match will face a quarterfinal against Algeria or Congo, who were to play in Rabat on Tuesday. Mali and Senegal will play the first quarterfinal on Friday, followed by hosts Morocco facing Cameroon.

AP