Egypt reach Afcon quarterfinals after Benin scare

Pharaohs face winners of Tuesday’s clash between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso

Mohamed Salah of Egypt celebrates goal with teammates during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON match between Egypt and Benin at the Adrar Stadium, Agadir on the 05 January 2026. (Nabil Ramdani/BackpagePix)

Yasser Ibrahim’s superb header and Mohamed Salah’s breakaway strike earned record seven-time champions Egypt a hard-fought 3-1 extra-time victory over Benin in their Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 clash on Monday.

Egypt led after 69 minutes through a superb 30-yard strike from Marwan Attia, but Benin forced the game into an additional 30 minutes when they equalised late on through Jodel Dossou.

Defender Ibrahim scored his first international goal on 97 minutes when he met Attia’s cross with a header from 15 yards that looped into the top corner of the net, and Salah raced clear to add the third with the last kick of the game.

Egypt face the winners of Tuesday’s last 16 clash between defending champions Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. The quarterfinal will be played in Agadir on Saturday.

Reuters



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