The Squirrels of Benin has advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament after beating the Atlas Lions of Morocco 4-1 after the penalty shootout.
A pulsating encounter between the North African side and the West African nation could not produce any goal as they went into the break. Morocco who had the better of possession could not make the most out of their chances, leaving their supporters in the stands frustrated.
Benin resumed the second half on the front foot and showed more intent in a bid to get break the deadlock of the match. Less than ten minutes into play, Moise Adilehou finally got on the scoresheet to give the Squirrels the lead. He reacted quickest in the opponent’s penalty box to fire his effort into the back of the net.
Though Herve Renard’s men pushed for an equalizer right after conceding, they found it difficult to find a way past a compact Benin defense that stood firm for the next 20 minutes.
Leganes attacker Youssef En Nesyri took advantage of a defensive blunder on the 76th minute to restore parity for the Moroccans to give them hope of advancing into the quarter-finals.
They could have easily done so in the dying minutes of the match when Stephane Sessegnon tripped Achraf Hakimi in his 18-yard box. Halim Ziyech could however not convert the resulting penalty kick as his effort went off the goalpost.
The game was later forced into extra time but could not produce any goal to decide the encounter and had to be decided through the penalty shootout.
Benin who went into the match as the less fancied side defied all odds to beat the favorites of the tournament 4-1.