The Squirrels of Benin produced the first major upset of the 2019 AFCON tournament with a 4-1 penalty shootout win in their Round of 16 clash.
The match ended 1-1 after 120 minutes and Benin sent the north Africans packing via penalty shootout in which they converted all their four kicks while Morocco threw away two of their first three kicks.
It is the first time the West African side would reach the last eight of the competition and they did that in extraordinary fashion.
Morocco were clearly pretty match favourites but they soon went behind when the Beninoise took a shock lead through Moise Adilehou in the 53rd minute.
The Moroccans’ woes were further compounded when they were reduced to 10 men, but they drew level from the spot converted by Youssef En-Nesyril in the 90th minute, and held on till full time.
Incredibly, the North Africans were undone by poor skill on penalty kicks when they managed to score just one kick while losing two in their first three efforts.
The Squirrels on their part converted four to win the game on 4-1 scoreline.
By Sab Osuji
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COMMENTS
Abeg which match did CSN watch. When was morroco reduced to 10 men. And there goal wasn’t from a penalty
African football is metamorphosizing rapidly! There are no push overs again. The days of thinking u can easily walk over teams in Africa are gone. This is what some people don’t understand. U want rohr’s head but have failed to understand that every country in Africa is rapidly mutating, becoming too strong for the so called strong teams to subdue. Take a look at the so called strong teams in this year’s afcon, all of them have struggled to beat the so called minnows. Who’s Benin to beat Morocco (being coached by one of the best coaches in Africa) one would ask? Senegal is currently sweating it out against “Uganda” with only one goal lead advantage. The table of football in Africa is turning rapidly and that’s the reality. All of u who are criticising Mr rohr should understand that African football is mutating and should as a matter of fact offer words of encouragement to the coaching crew and team instead of viscioulsy criticizing the team without taking into consideration the reality on ground. Omo9ja and Co, if it were Nigeria that were beating by Benin, I wonder what would’ve been happening on this forum by now. Mr rohr as a matter of fact remains the best coach Nigeria has had in recent times, let’s learn to appreciate what we have and stop making senseless comparisons.
How do you know Moroccans are not complaining? Are you in the country to know whether they accepted the defeat in good heart? Mind you, they didn’t lose in open field of play but in penalties. We lost to Madagascar 2 to nil, the lowest of all the seeded countries and its that a result? Call a spade a spade, a coach is a good as the present games and not past games. Everyone loses at one point or the other and I am not crucifying Rohr for losing but the way and manner he lost. No game plan at all. Constructive criticism makes one grow. So, I plead with you, reason with your brain sometimes.
If it were Nigeria that lost to Benin on penalties would u be saying this same thing? You would say,ohh,nigeria should have won during normal play, Benin is match for Nigeria, The coach is tactically deranged etc,etc just like omo9ja and his clan. The point I’m trying to make is that there are no small teams in Africa anymore. Senegal recorded a slim win against lowly placed Uganda yesterday. Why couldn’t they (the Senegalese) blow them away going by their pedigree? African football is rapidly changing, hence don’t expect big wins by the so called super powers over other teams. A win is enough, no matter the margin or the proficiency in play. It’s better to play kack and win than to play down the stars and lose. History records winners and not losers that played very well.
No match***
I talk am o,I talk am. My greatest worry is our brethren. Our West African brethren will be our toughest opponents.Add Cameroon. There is one called Eagles,they play exactly like a typical Super Eagles team.
The North African guys can conquer domestically and kudos to them they deserve it,their leagues are well organized. But when it comes to National teams,when players come from outside Africa? West Africa RULES the terrain with brute force. We’ve got more talent,flair,power,etc.
A West African team will lift this trophy,I have no doubt.
That’s the Benin that someone was using to mock Cameroon. Look Benin is a difficult prospect for the SEagles today. Against the Lions,we need to fight o, I’m pretty sure Rohr has been forced to listen to positive criticism s and even protests from his players in Egypt.
Infact assuming Egypt wins,the truth is we will play two finals-Egypt wud be softer though- before we even reach the semifinal.
Super Eagles gird your loins,you have not seen a thing like this.
Wish you the best.
Imagine what Nigerians would have said if team morroco was ours.
1. Renard ( who happens to have won 2 Afcon ) is the worst coach ever.
2. Ziyech is a stupid player
3. Sack the stupid coach
4. Disband the team.
5. How can we lose to a minor( Benin)
What I am trying to say is that Good coaches too lose games. It’s definitely a bad loss for Morroco but it will be worse for team if they do anything that will stop their wonderful team from building on what they have started.
I will NEVER sack Renard if ai were Morroco FA President.
God bless Nigeria.
I dy tell u @Mike, you would ve seen all sorts of arm chair coaches everywhere,each with his own funny assessment and proposal for the team. Imagine Morocco being beaten by Benin, that sounds incredible but it’s real. Can omo9ja and his group pls give us their own assessment of the Moroccan team under herve Renard (a case study of the Nigerian team under rohr). Oh, he’d say: the coach is not good, highly tactically inept, some players didn’t deserve to be there etc etc. Lots of over sabi coaches wey no sabi anything about football, just making noise everywhere.
What shall it profit a team to win all their group matches and lose to Benin in the second round…… Won’t talk yet till after our match tomorrow. Soar super eagles of Nigeria
Amuneke was not sacked,Seedorf won’t be sacked win or lose. I’m saying, every countries situation is different.
Morocco is not Nigeria. They know what they want in their coach and would decide what is best,according to their unique blueprint. Don’t forget the North Africans are the best in football administration in Africa. Just that West Africa largely bosses them in competitions in recent times because we have a clear advantage with talent,physical strength et al. So the Moroccans know what to do with their coach. Let’s leave them.
Enter Rohr. I don’t know why some of you keep awaking dead issues. There is the Nigerian way of playing and he has been trying to change it. He reminds me of Berti Vogts,an excellent German tactician, but his undoing was trying to change the philosophy of the Super Eagles, it didn’t work. It will never work.
Spain won’t employ Mourinho because, of their kind of football. The Dutch have a philosophy, Brazil too,so they employ coaches to give ventilation to their philosophy. This is what football is about.
By the way,Benin are no minnows,they were minnows ten years ago not now,not last two years even.
I expect us to pull together, move ahead and support this team,not trying to win arguments that have been silenced. THE SUPER EAGLES PLAYERS in Egypt voiced their displeasure with their coach’s tactics. That settles it,the players are in the best position to give such a verdict. So it’s clear Mr Rohrs methods needs to be changed urgently.
That’s what we expect and that’s what we should all expect,while we cheer them up for next match, not going back and cherrypicking arguments that won’t help our course.
You’re blessed, thank you!
Amen,my pleasure sir
Yeah, Morocco is not Nigeria and Morocco can never be like Nigeria. But the reality is, African football ball has changed from what it used to be like I said earlier. If you’ve noticed, all the African to 5 teams in this tourney have been struggling to win games convincingly not bcs they don’t have good coaches or players but bcs the so called smaller teams are improving everyday. You made mention of our football philosophy but remember that History doesn’t celebrate losers but winners. it’s better to play kack football and win than play like Barcelona and lose. In one of the world cup qualifiers we played some years back against Angola, we played spectacularly well but painfully and agonisingly lost and failed to qualify for the world cup in Germany. So, most times,u don’t have to play well to win matches. Most of the people making noise about Nigeria playing like Barcelona and winning matches have not kicked a ball of orange on the streets let alone playing pro football to understand what it entails to play football and get results.
Football has,s ince a few years now,changed world over,even the smaller teams in women football are no more as soft as they used to be years back.
Uganda just sacked their coach because they know what they put into their team and the kind of results they expected.
On a lighter mood,look at that Benin player in the picture above,a marked difference from the skinny personnel we used to see 10yrs ago.hehe.
Yet Benin’s change didn’t start in this nations cup.
What I said on philosophy is standard pls,there is no argument against it. Brazil just won the Copa and they did so with a coach who they employed because,they knew he understands their style. Barca has their style&they win with it,Madrid has a different style. So operating with a philosophy is a common thing. Now some matches might come with a unique challenge on your philosophy,that’s where a smart coach does a little tweaking. Eg dats why Barca bought,Rakitic and later Vidal(who eventho is not a typical Barca kind of player,offers them much needed PHYSICALITY IN THE MIDDLE,against teams that threaten Barca philosophy by being physical)
. Pep also did some tweaks last season against teams dat where good enough to threaten City’s philosophy. Tweaks are allowed and can happen,they are introduced temporarily to help the team whilst the team continues permanently with it’s philosophy .
Absolute truth is that Nigeria has it’s unique playing style,it’s philosophy and as such coaches should seek to give ventilation to that.It’s clear the U-20 coach didn’t for example,and I don’t say this because the U-20 team lost at the world cup.
I like this Benin team. They are fearless and arrogant. Underrate them at your own peril. I wish them good luck.
Up Benin… I love what you did to morrocco