AFCON 2020 Round of 16 Matches One and Two

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

AFCON 2020 Round of 16 Matches

June 29, 2020

Mali 2 Benin 1

 

Mali held on for a vital win against Benin in the opening Round of 16 clash of AFCON 2020.

 

Benin altered their formation slightly to match Mali’s, in the hope of outsmarting them with similar tactics.

 

Emmanuel Imorou had the first real attempt for Benin in the ninth minute, shooting with his right foot just wide of the mark. However, though Les Guépards worked mostly down the left wing, Mali were a little more direct, and Kalifa Coulibaly was found alone in the box; his right footer found the back of the net.

 

Unperturbed, Benin continued down the left wing as their main ploy, leading to a Mickaël Poté cross to Steve Mounié, whose header barely missed to the left of goal.

 

Poté then had his own header in the 44th minute, though the tight angle meant his shot looped across the face of goal as he aimed for the smallest of gaps.

 

After the break, Mali attacked direct once again, this time Moussa Doumbia going on a long run and shot. His left footer hit the underside of an advancing Fabien Farnolle, before the ball diverted and hit the post. Farnolle recovered first to retrieve the ball and keep his side in the match.

 

Benin followed suit with directness, with captain Stéphane Sessègnon catching the Malian defence on a fast break. As he prepared to shoot, defender Mamadou Fofana made a challenge, which the referee deemed a penalty. It was a surprise that Imorou, the left back, stepped up; he made no mistake, bringing the match all square.

 

On the hour mark, Mounié should have put Benin in the lead after a lucky interception bounced the ball his way. Djigui Diarra stuck out his right leg and managed to keep the ball away from the goal.

 

In the 66th minute, Coulibaly won a 50-50 ball in his attacking third. As he approached the box, surrounded by two Benin defenders, he leant on the ball, passing it to the running Doumbia, who pocketed the lead for Mali with his left foot.

 

The Malians tried for a third to put the game out of Benin’s reach. Substitute Moussa Marega crossed from the left wing to his fellow teammate off the bench, Makan Samabali. The midfielder won the aerial challenge as his header required a Farnolle save. Adama Traoré II leapt and won his own header right against the byline, back towards Coulibaly. The striker used as much of his arm as he did his chest to ease the ball across the line; the referee saw the handball and gave Benin a breather.

 

The rest of the match played out in the middle of the park, and Mali held on for a place in the Quarter Finals.

 

Lassana Coulibaly was deemed Player of the Match for Mali with the most dribbles and an assist.

 

Egypt 4 Madagascar 0

 

Egypt breezed past Madagascar in the second Round of 16 match.

 

Madagascar, having placed second in their group, hoped to thwart any notion of Egypt reclaiming dominance over the tournament. Mohamed Salah, however, had other ideas for the hosts as he hit the bottom of the post in the second minute after a cross fell his way.

 

Marwan Mohsen also looked dangerous, earning a free kick as he dribbled around defenders with relative ease. Salah’s free kick needed the wall to hoist the ball out of play. In the next passage of play, after a poor corner kick, Tarek Hamed’s shot from outside the box was too close to goalkeeper Melvin Adrien. Later, Hamed’s cross from the right wing found Mohsen not totally marked; his header needed an Adrien save.

 

In the 22nd minute, Salah hit the same part of the post as he had earlier, only this time the spinning ball crossed the line. This was after some choice tackles in midfield, setting up the talisman in behind the Madagascan defence.

 

As the half hour approached, Salah set up Mohsen with a quality cross from the right wing; Mohsen’s header hit both the Madagascar defender and Adrien. In the next passage of play, right back Ramy Rabia crossed perfectly to Abdalla Said, whose header was better than Mohsen’s, and the score became 2-0.

 

In the 34th minute, Mohsen then teed up Salah, whose left footer tucked inside the post.

 

The game close to being over, Madagascar’s Ibrahim Amada had a wild shot on goal right before the break, but the first half was totally owned by Egypt across the park.

 

In the 61st minute, Amada had another attempt, this time more realistic; the shot was blocked, and Madagascar had their first corner. However, this amounted to nought.

 

Instead, the 84th minute brought about Egypt’s fourth, as Player of the Match Salah set up Hamed for a goal with a through ball from near the semi-circle. The midfielder had no issues manoeuvring the ball into the back of the net.

 

In the end, Egypt progressed to the Quarter Finals with relative ease.