The Pharaohs eventually escaped. A lobbed header from Yasser Ibrahim relieved an entire nation in the 7th minute of extra time in the round of 16 of the CAN 2025 against Benin, this Monday evening in Agadir. While the Cheetahs had thrown all their strength into the opposing area, Mohamed Salah put the cover on the counter-attack in the last minute (3-1, ap). Two years after their elimination in the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations against DR Congo (1-1, 8-7 on the tabs), the Egyptians were once again pushed into overtime at the same stage of the competition.
This time, they better negotiated their turn towards the knockout phase by avoiding penalties, although the manner was not there. In one action, Egypt had achieved the complete opposite of what it had produced for 69 minutes. At the end of a classy collective sequence, Mohamed Hany’s back cross seemed lost for everyone, but Marwan Attia, arriving slightly behind at the entrance to the area, placed a sublime strike from the inside of the right foot into the left corner of the Guépards (1-0, 70th).
Like Yasser, the defensive midfielder had never scored for the national team. Jodel Dossou responded (1-1, 83rd), opportunistic to push into the net a ball saved by Mohamed El-Shenawy, forced to stop on a cross deflected by one of his teammates. Without success, Egypt pushed to avoid extension, its supporters trembled.
Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso
The Pharaohs had trampled for a long time during a rough and muscular game. A helplessness summed up by the best situation of the first period. Launched against from his own camp, Omar Marmoush drove the ball 20 m, without slowing down as he crossed the opposing goalkeeper. While he had a face-off to negotiate, the Manchester City striker did not draw (8th).
In the quarter-finals, Mohamed Salah and his teammates will challenge the winner of the round of 16 between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. The slope will rise for a team which has so far only encountered one big piece – South Africa, narrowly dominated in the first round (1-0).
