Egypt kept their hopes of winning an eighth Africa Cup of Nations title alive with a hard-fought extra-time victory over Benin in the Round of 16 at the Grande Stade d’Agadir. Benin were chasing just their second-ever Quarterfinal appearance, while Egypt entered the match with a dominant head-to-head history, having won three of the previous four meetings between the nations.
The opening stages were tense, with both sides creating promising moments. Early on, a diagonal pass released Olaïtan down the left for Benin before a quick counter put Omar Marmoush through on goal for Egypt, only for goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbé Dandjinou to close him down before he could finish. Benin continued to rely on long balls forward, while Egypt struggled to find rhythm in attack during a cagey first half.
After the break, Egypt came close when Saad Samir Rabia’s effort from close range was blocked superbly by Dandjinou and then cleared off the line by defender Ouorou. Benin nearly took the lead themselves minutes later when Jodel Dossou broke through on the right, but Mohamed El Shenawy did enough to deny him.
Egypt finally found a breakthrough in the 69th minute. Good work down the right led to a cut-back into the area that ran to Marwan Attia on the edge of the box, and he curled a brilliant first-time strike into the top corner to give the Pharaohs the lead.
Benin, however, refused to give in. Their persistence paid off in the 83rd minute when a deflected cross wrong-footed El Shenawy, allowing Dossou to slide in and score from close range. With the match locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the tie went to extra time.
In first half extra time Egypt restored their lead in the 97th minute. A short corner routine led to a curling cross from the left, and Yasser Ibrahim guided a composed header into the top corner to make it 2-1. From there, Egypt controlled the tempo, with Mohamed Salah and Marmoush repeatedly stretching the Benin back line.
As Benin pushed forward late on, Egypt sealed the result in stoppage time at the end of extra-time. Breaking quickly from a Benin corner, Salah was released through the middle and, spotting the goalkeeper off his line, calmly slotted home from distance to secure a 3-1 victory.
Benin’s brave run came to an end under coach Gernot Rohr, while Egypt move on to the Quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of the tie between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso on 10 January.
