Egypt and Nigeria have booked their places in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after hard-fought victories over Benin and Mozambique respectively, in matches played on Monday, January 5, 2026.
The day’s action kicked off with a tightly contested encounter between Egypt and Benin. Many fans had expected the Pharaohs to cruise to victory, but Benin proved to be stubborn opponents. Both teams battled intensely, with the first half ending goalless as they saved their best for after the break.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 69th minute when Egyptian midfielder Marwan Attia found the net. Benin responded with great spirit, and striker Jodel Dossou leveled the score in the 83rd minute, forcing the match into extra time.
Egypt made their experience count during the additional 30 minutes. Defender Yasser Ibrahim struck just three minutes into extra time, before Mohamed Salah sealed the victory with a late goal in the 124th minute. Egypt now await the winner between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, who face off on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
Later in the day at the Complexe Sportif de Fès, Nigeria delivered a commanding performance against Mozambique. The Super Eagles thought they had taken the lead as early as the second minute through Victor Osimhen, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review by referee Abdou Abdel Mefire, the youngest official at the tournament.
Nigeria were not discouraged. Ademola Lookman opened the scoring in the 20th minute after a fine assist from Akor Adams, who went on to set up Osimhen for the second goal just five minutes later. Osimhen struck again shortly after the restart, scoring Nigeria’s third goal in the 47th minute.
The TotalEnergies Man of the Match.
Akor Adams capped off an impressive individual performance with a fourth goal in the 79th minute, sealing a convincing win for Nigeria. The Super Eagles will now face the winner of the tie between Algeria and DR Congo.
Remaining Round of 16 matches (Tuesday):
- 6:00 PM: Algeria vs DR Congo
- 9:00 PM: Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso