With Salah’s brilliant goal, Egypt reach the quarter-finals

In a thrilling Round of 16 clash at the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt overcame Benin 3–1 after extra time to secure a place in the quarter-finals. While the final scoreline suggests a comfortable win, the match was far from straightforward. At the end of regular time, the teams were deadlocked at 1–1, forcing Egypt to wait until extra time to claim victory.

Benin, nicknamed the “Cheetahs,” applied relentless pressure throughout the 90 minutes, testing Egypt’s resilience at every turn. Egypt’s breakthrough came in the 68th minute when Marwan Atiya curled a spectacular long-range strike into the net. However, Benin responded in the 84th minute through Jodel Dossou, who capitalised on a rebound after Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy initially blocked his shot.

After the regular 90 minutes ended in a 1–1 draw, extra time proved decisive. Yasir Ibrahim’s powerful header restored Egypt’s lead, and in the 123rd minute, Mohamed Salah sealed the win with a brilliant finish, etching his name further into the tournament’s history. Salah’s goal brought his tournament tally to 10, making him Egypt’s third-highest scorer in AFCON history, behind Hassan El-Shazly (12) and Hossam Hassan (11).

Seven-time African champions Egypt have now reached the quarter-finals for the third time in the last five editions. They will remain in Agadir until 10 January ahead of their next match against the winner of the Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso tie.

Early in the match, Egypt created chances but could not assert full dominance. Before Atiya’s goal, Omar Marmoush missed a one-on-one opportunity in the opening ten minutes. Later, another Marmoush attempt from a Salah pass was cleared off the line by Johan Roche.

Both teams suffered injury setbacks: Benin’s forward Tosin Ayegun was forced off, and Egypt replaced Mohamed Hamdi just before half-time. In the second half, Benin goalkeeper Danzinou made a stunning save to deny Rami Rabia’s header.

Benin had several other scoring opportunities, including a one-on-one chance for Dossou in the 60th minute, but Egypt’s substitutions and tactical adjustments eventually tipped the balance. Extra-time strikes ultimately secured Egypt’s victory, marking their first return to the quarter-finals since finishing as runners-up in Cameroon four years ago. Notably, Egypt has never been eliminated at the quarter-final stage since 2002, reaching the final five times and lifting the trophy three times during that period.

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Egypt now prepares to face the winner of Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals, with hopes high of adding an eighth AFCON title to their illustrious history.