All the matches of the Round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations are wrapped up, and all the games had dramatic moments which shocked and surprised the fans.
Equatorial Guinea stunned Mali on penalties to reach the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals. Mali were the favourites going into the game, but Equatorial Guinea held tight till the end and won on the shoot out.
Both Equatorial Guinea and Mali missed two of their first five spot-kicks, and Mali defender Falaye Sacko eventually had the 16th penalty of the shootout saved by Equatorial Guinea’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Jesus Owono.
Mohamed Salah buried the decisive penalty as Egypt beat Ivory Coast 5-4 in a shootout to reach the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations 2021 in Douala, Cameroon. This match was expected to be challenging for both teams, and it was evident in the game. Both teams failed to score the winning goal in the regular minutes.
In the penalty shootout, the Egypt keeper pulled off the only save of the shootout when he tipped Eric Bailly’s penalty onto the crossbar and out. Abou Gabal, who wears the name Gabaski on the back of his jersey, had come on as a substitute in the 88th minute when Mohammed el-Shenawy was injured.
Senegal, the continent’s top-ranked side, and Morocco are into the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Cape Verde and Malawi, respectively.
Senegal overcame nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 courtesy of second-half goals from Sadio Mane and Bamba Dieng. Mane was substituted less than 10 minutes after scoring the opening goal as he appeared to still be feeling the effects following a clash of heads with Vozinha.
Morocco came from a goal down to defeat Malawi 2-1 at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde. Gabadinho Mhango gave Malawi a shock lead with a stunning, dipping long-range effort after just seven minutes.
Morocco, ranked 101 places above their opponents, pushed for a goal and were unlucky not to be level with Malawian goalkeeper Charles Thomu pulling off a number of crucial saves and captain Romain Saiss hitting the woodwork.
Morocco deservedly levelled in first-half stoppage time through striker Youssef En Nesyri who headed home from close range. Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi put Morocco ahead with a stunning free-kick in the 70th minute, his second goal of the tournament, to put his side into the last eight for the second time since 2004.
Here’s the full fixture schedule and venues across the quarter-finals:
Gambia vs Cameroon – Japoma Stadium, Douala
Burkina Faso vs Tunisia – Roumde Adija Stadium, Garoua
Egypt vs Morocco – Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde
Senegal vs Equatorial Guinea – Japoma Stadium, YDouala
