Mohamed Salah scored with the last kick in extra time to seal Egypt’s 3-1 win over Benin in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16, and Nigeria enjoyed a 4-0 rout of Mozambique on Monday.
Egypt had to dig 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.
“Before the game, I said there are no easy teams, and Benin were a tough opponent,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.
The Pharaohs dominated from the start but had to wait till the 69th 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.
Benin coach Gernot Rohr was encouraged by his team’s performance without injured forward Steve Mounié.
“In a match like this, he would have helped us a lot, particularly in aerial play,” the German said. “But as head coach, I am proud of my players. I take away their attitude, their solidarity, and their fighting spirit tonight. That is very positive for the future of the Cheetahs.”
Egypt, which has played every game in Agadir, will stay in the coastal city for a quarterfinal on Saturday against Burkina Faso or defending champion Ivory Coast, who were meeting on Tuesday.
The Pharaohs will have an extra day of rest before facing their next opponents as they bid for a record-extending eighth title.
Egypt was dealt a blow before the break when left back Mohamed Hamdy went off on a stretcher with what looked like a serious left knee injury after his foot connected with Dokou Dodo’s head. Dodo was OK to continue, but Hamdy covered his eyes as he was carried off while receiving well-wishes from teammates.
“His teammates played for him,” Hassan said.
Super Eagles soar
Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman starred as Nigeria routed Mozambique in Fez.
The Super Eagles were singing and dancing as they made their way into the stadium and heavy rainfall failed to dampen their mood.
Osimhen had an early goal ruled out for offside, but Nigeria didn’t have to wait long for Lookman to get off the mark in the 20th minute when Akor Adams set him up.
Osimhen got his goal five minutes later, again set up by Adams, though the cross took a deflection.
Any hopes the Mambas had of a comeback were dented after the break when Lookman set up Osimhen for his second goal. Lookman also set up Adams to seal the result on a break in the 75th.
Osimhen was already off the field for a rest by then. Nigeria’s coach Eric Chelle also took Lookman and Adams off in the final minutes.
The Super Eagles’ next match is a quarterfinal against Algeria or Congo, who are scheduled to play in Rabat on Tuesday.
Mali and Senegal will play the first quarterfinal on Friday, followed by host Morocco facing Cameroon.
