Mohamed Salah‘s Egypt have beaten Benin 3-1 after extra time at AFCON 2025 in Agadir on Monday night.
Marwan Attia curled in superbly from the edge of the box, before Jodel Dossou tapped in to level late on.In extra time, Egypt’s Yasser Ibrahim nodded home before Mohamed Salah broke clear to wrap the match up.
Not everything that Salah tried came off today. He was marked aggressively and dispossessed several times.
However, he battled until the end, was a creative threat, drew fouls, brought others into the game and did not stop running until the very end.
His effort was rewarded with that opportunity at the end, and he buried it in typical Salah fashion.
The result sees Egypt reach the quarter-finals, where they will play either Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso.
Post-match reactions
Yasser Ibrahim, TotalEnergies Man of the Match: “It was not an easy match. Benin were a good team. They scored during a difficult period for us, but we managed to regain control. We knew Benin had strong qualities. I think we dropped a bit in the last ten minutes and they took advantage of that. But the team responded well and now we are already thinking about the next match.”
Gernot Rohr, Benin Head Coach: “What we saw was a match that was a fight, a real battle, while still playing football. Two teams engaged in a tough contest. I saw a good football match. When you look at the Egyptian individual players, we don’t have the same level. Especially since our best striker, Steve Mounié, was missing. I regret his absence, because in a match like this he would have helped us a lot, particularly in aerial play. But as head coach, I am proud of my players. I take away their attitude tonight, their solidarity and fighting spirit. That is very positive for the future of the Cheetahs.”
Hossam Hassan, Egypt Head Coach: “It was a very difficult match. Before the game, I said there are no easy teams, and Benin were a tough opponent. We work to analyse every opponent in order to adapt our game. Egypt is a great football team and I want to make my people happy. We are sad about the injury to Mohamed Hamdy, which seems serious. His teammates played for him. We are mentally prepared to play either 90 minutes or extra time. I trust my team and my staff, especially the medical staff, to ensure good recovery before the next match.”
