Benin have achieved the most shocking feat of this year’s edition of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) by beating their more illustrious opponents Morocco at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Friday evening.
The West African country handed the Atlas Lions of Morocco 4-1 on post-match penalties after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time to secure quarter finals ticket for the first time in their history.
Les Écureuils scored their penalties through Olivier Verdon, David Djilga, Anane Tidjani and Seibeou Mama. The Atlas Lions on their end scored only one of their penalties through Oussama Idrissi.
The team’s most dependable players in attack Sofiane Boufal and Youssef En-Nessyri both missed as Morocco paid the penalty for their complacency.
Benin only qualified to the round of 16 after a final day 0-0 draw with defending champions Cameroon squeezed them through as one of the best four third placed teams.
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