Only after extra time did record champions Egypt prevail in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup. Benin, coached by the German Gernot Rohr, put up a strong fight – and achieved something historic despite their elimination.
Record winner Egypt with star striker Mohamed Salah can continue to dream of their eighth title at the Africa Cup despite a bumpy appearance in the round of 16. The favored team moved into the quarter-finals in Agadir thanks to a 3-1 (1-1, 0-0) after extra time against Benin, coached by Gernot Rohr. Coach Hossam Hassan’s team will face Burkina Faso or defending champions Ivory Coast on Saturday, who will duel on Tuesday (8 p.m.). The final will take place on January 18th in Rabat.
Marwan Attia (69th minute), Yasser Ibrahim (97th) and Salah (120th + 4) paved the way for the Egyptians to reach the round of the last eight teams with their goals. Jodel Dossou (83′) had equalized for the clear outsiders to make it 1-1. Premier League professionals Omar Marmoush from Manchester City and Liverpool’s Salah hardly stood out against Benin’s strong defense.
Marmoush misses a great opportunity
Marmoush could possibly have given his teammates a slightly more pleasant day at work, but the ex-Frankfurt player failed in the early stages after a counterattack free in front of Benin’s goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou. The remaining attack attempts were often easy prey for Rohr’s attentive defenders.
In a game that was poor in highlights, Attia finally provided a bright moment when he curled the ball inside into the top left corner from almost 20 meters. Benin responded with great luck: Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy scraped a deflected cross just in front of the line, but right at the feet of Dossou, who effortlessly finished. In extra time, Ibrahim scored with a header and Salah scored after a counterattack.
Despite the elimination, the trip to Morocco ends historically for the Benineses. In the preliminary round, the small West African country won a game at an African Cup for the first time with a 1-0 win against Botswana; the other group games against the Democratic Republic of Congo (0:1) and Senegal (0:3) ended in defeats. Egypt progressed first in Group B with seven points.
During his playing days, the former professional footballer Rohr played for FC Bayern Munich, Waldhof Mannheim and the Offenbacher Kickers, among others.
dpa/mel
