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It’s obviously been a very quiet news day in the world of football, riiiiiiighhhht?
Here’s Osasu Obayiuwana’s view:
For the Pharaohs, managed by the multiple Afcon winner Hossam Hassan and with players such as Omar Marmoush of Manchester City, Trézéguet and Mohamed Salah, this should be an easy day at the office. But it will be anything but that if Gernot Rohr, the manager of only the second Benin side to qualify for the knockout stages, has anything to do with it. ‘This is going to be a big game, a fantastic game for our country,’ Rohr told the Guardian. ‘Of course, we know the big players they have … We know that it will be difficult to beat them. But as outsiders, we will have our chance.’
It’s not been a tournament of shocks, as Jonathan Wilson explains here:
The teams
Egypt: Mohamed El Shenawy, Hany, Ibrahim, Rabia, Hamdi, Attia, Fathy, Adel, Salah, Marmoush, Trézéguet
Subs: Ahmed El Shenawy, Sobhi, Abdelmaguid, Ashour, Mohsen, Mohamed, Abou El Fetouh, Shehata, Fathi, Faisal, Eid, Zizo, Shobeir, Saber, Ismail
Benin: Dandjinou, Ouorou, Verdon, Tijani, Roche, Dokou, D’Almeida, Hassane, Aloko, Tosin, Olaïtan
Subs: Fassinou, Attidjikou, Ahlinvi, Kiki, Ahouangbo, Allagbé, Dossou, Kossi, Amoussou, Obassa, Rachidou, Tessilimi, Azongnitode, Ahoudo, Akimey
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the Afcon show. We’re into the last 16, with the seven-time champions facing a side that have reached the quarter-finals just once. Even then, when Benin got to the last eight in 2019, it was without winning a single game in normal time; a shootout win against Morocco was preceded by three draws in the group stage. Egypt are the giants here, chasing No 8.
Despite his country’s past glories and all his success at club level, Mo Salah is still chasing his first Afcon title. He scored two goals in the group stage, including the winner against Zimbabwe, as Egypt finished top. Benin finally secured their first Afcon victory in normal time with a 1-0 win agaist Botswana, and find themselves here via a third-place finish. Agadir is the scene for what looks a routine job for Salah and co … though the last 16 is where they fell two years ago, dumped out on penalties by DR Congo. Here’s to some proper knockout drama in Agadir. Kick-off’s at 4pm GMT.
