10-man Benin pulls a shocker on favorites Morocco to edge them out and proceed to AfCON quarter-finals
A 10-man Benin side surprised AfCON favorites Morocco beating them on penalty shootouts after a 1-1 draw on regular and extra time in a round of 16 match that was played yesterday, Friday July 6, 2019.
Moise Adilehou put the underdogs ahead in the 53rd minute when he struck a volley from a corner.
En-Nesyri equalized for Morocco in the 76th and Ziyach missed a 90th minute penalty that could have otherwise sent Benin home and Morocco into the quarterfinals. Benin’s Captain Stephane Sessegnon gave Morocco the penalty after bringing down Achraf Hakimi in the box.
Benin’s Adenon was sent off with a second yellow leaving his team with 10 men in the pitch but they managed to hold on to the draw with the Title’s favorites up to the extra time.
When the game proceeded to penalty shootout, Morocco’s Boufal missed his penalty while Benin’s goalkeeper Owolabi Kassifa saved En-Nesyri’s pushing it onto the crossbar.
Benin, on the other hand, scored all their penalties with Mama scoring his which sent his country, which is regarded as minnows in this year’s AFCON as minnows, into the quarter finals where they are set to face Senegal which beat Uganda with a narrow 1-0 win.
Sadio Mane scored for Senegal in the 15th minute after intercepting possession and striking with a counterattack. Senegal, somehow, managed to hold on the lead even with a lot of pressure from the only surviving East Africa representatives, Uganda.
Mane also won a penalty in the 59th minute but his kick from the spot was stopped by Uganda’s goalkeeper Denis Onyango. The Uganda goalkeeper did a lot of extra work to stop the shots from Senegalese players.
Many football fans are looking forward to the Benin Vs Senegal game with many predicting that the latter maybe in for a shocker as well.
Africa Global News Publication
