A 10-man Benin squad has stunned football lovers at the ongoing African cup of Nations in Egypt. The squad eliminated title contenders, Morocco in a penalty shootout on Friday to reach the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw in Cairo.
Moise Adilehou put Benin Republic in the lead early in the second half, leaving them on course for a shock win, but Youssef En-Nesyri equalised for Morocco. Ajax star Ziyech blew a chance to snatch victory by barely missing the goal post in the 96th minute.
Benin were forced to play most of extra time after Khaled Adenon received a second yellow card for dissent, and was sent off the pitch. But they prevailed 4-1 in the shootout following misses by Sofiane Boufal and En-Nesyri. They are set to face Senegal or Uganda on July 10 for a spot in the semi-finals.
Benin have now played a total of 13 games in the history of the African Cup of Nations without winning a single game. They managed to scrape through to the knockout rounds on the back of three draws after holding both Ghana and reigning champions Cameroon in the group stage.