🌍 AFCON: Equatorial Guinea join Egypt in qualifying after tense shootout | OneFootball

We’ve reached the last two fixtures of the last-16 of AFCON.

Here is what went down as the final two spots in the quarter finals are sewn up.

Equatorial Guinea edge through on penalties

Equatorial Guinea’s dream AFCON run continued as they kept up their streak of reaching at least the quarter-final every time they’ve qualified with a nervy penalty shootout win over Mali.

It took 34 minutes for the first chance to arrive, only for Amadou Haidara to make a big mess of it and fail to connect with the ball when he looked set to pounce for the opener.

Mali were then awarded a penalty before the interval only for VAR to intervene and take it away as Moussa Doumbia was judged to have already been on his way down.

The chances kept coming for Mali, with Mohamed Camara blasting over while completely unmarked in the best opening before the whistle blew on the 90 minutes to send the second game of the day to extra-time and penalties, with neither nation able to break the deadlock.

In the shootout, Hamari Traore handed Equatorial Guinea the advantage by blasting over but Pablo Ganet missed his chance to be the hero and send his country through when his strike was saved, leading to sudden death.

There, after two successful conversions each, Jesús Owono’s save proved decisive from a poor kick as he sent the National Thunder through, with a 6-5 shootout success.

Salah scores decisive penalty to send Egypt through

Egypt take their place in the quarter-finals after overcoming Ivory Coast in a dramatic penalty shootout in Douala.

Les Éléphants dominated the possession in the early stages but it was Egpyt who came closest to breaking the deadlock.

Omar Marmoush struck the crossbar with a free-kick from 30 yards out before Mohamed Salah tested Badra Sangaré from the edge of the box but the goalkeeper was able to tip the ball over the bar.

Franck Kessié had to leave the pitch in the 30th minute as Ivory Coast’s first half looked to be turning into a disaster until Ibrahim Sangaré almost fired them ahead in spectacular style, being found in the centre of the box and producing a bicycle kick which had Egpyt goalkeeper Mohammed El Shenawy at full stretch.

Sébastien Haller had been kept pretty quiet until he 70th minute when he rose to header a corner at goal which had to be tipped over by El Shenawy.

Trezeguet then came off the bench for Egypt and almost immediately fired them ahead, making room in the box before flashing his shot wide across goal.

El Shenawy was the hero again to deny Wilfred Zaha from close range before Carlos Quieroz had to face the problem of losing his goalkeeper to injury in the aftermath of him denying the Crystal Palace forward.

Extra time came and went with little incident until Trezeguet was found again, this time just outside the six yard box but his shot went straight into the arms of B.Sangaré in the dying seconds.

To penalties it went with the first four spot-kicks successful before Eric Bailly saw his effort turned onto the bar.

The remaining penalties were all successful which left Salah to finish off the decisive one to book Egypt’s place in the last eight.