Salah seals Egypt win against Benin as AFCON 2025 quarterfinals awaits

Egypt beat Benin 3-1 at Stade d’Agadir in the Morocco-hosted Africa Cup of Nations last 16 with the final kick in extra time thanks to Mohamed Salah’s scoring.

After Jodel Dossou pounced on a rebound to bring the game level in the 83rd minute, the Pharaohs braved the situation after being surprisingly held to 1-1 in normal time on Monday.

Egypt predominated from the beginning, but Marwan Attia’s reign came to an end with the 69th when they had to wait.

In the seventh minute of extra time, Attia was involved when Yasser Ibrahim headed home with a looping header into the top left corner.

After Zizo had let Salah pass, he had the final say in a counterattack by shooting past Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou from outside the penalty box. His third tournament goal came in.

Egypt’s squad, which has played every game in Agadir, will travel to Burkinabe on Saturday to face either defending champion Ivory Coast or Burkinabe in the quarterfinals.

The group stage victory over Botswana by 1-0 was enough for Benin to advance to the last 16.

Omar Marmoush broke through on Monday when Dandjinou, a Benin goalkeeper, came out to stop him before moving any further. Dandjinou must have known that his game would be busy.

As the Pharaohs continued to advance, Yohan Roche slammed off the line. However, Benin stopped any other clear-cut chances by settling. Both Marmoush and Salah’s attempts were unsuccessful.

Before the break, Egyptian left back Mohamed Hamdy injured what appeared to be a serious left knee injury when his foot struck Dokou Dodo’s head. Hamdy went off on a stretcher. Dodo was ok to continue, but Hamdy covered his eyes as he was carried off while receiving teammates’ well-wishes.

The ball was pulled backwards behind the penalty area by Mohamed Hany, who curled it with the side of his boot inside the top left corner.

After Junior Olaitan’s deflected goal-ward shot, goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy was unable to stop the game, Dossou decided to play it out.

In their quest for a record-extending eighth title, the Pharaohs will have an extra day of rest before facing their next foes.

Later on Monday, Nigeria and Mozambique squared off in Fez. As they entered the stadium, the Super Eagles were sung and dancing. The winner of that final 16 game will face Algeria or Congo, who were scheduled to play in Rabat on Tuesday.