Egypt vs Benin prediction: AFRICA: Africa Cup of Nations – Play Offs betting tips on match 2026-01-04 16:00.
[p]Egypt won Group B in unconvincing fashion and will now need to get serious when they face Benin, who scraped through as one of the four best third-placed sides.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan rotated his squad on matchday three knowing a draw against winless Angola would be enough to win the group, so he’ll hope the return of his big hitters can invoke a return to winning ways. Seven points from the group stage is a respectable return on paper (W2, D1), but needing a stoppage-time winner to overcome Zimbabwe and a penalty to get past South Africa shows they’ve been far from dominant so far. A 13-game unbeaten run against African nations (W11, D2) is much more akin to the dominance we’re used to seeing from Egypt, but bearing the psychological scars of a last 16 elimination at the last AFCON edition against inferior opposition, Egypt can ill afford to rest on their laurels here.[/p]
[p]Making their first knockout stage appearance at AFCON since 2019, Benin have been given little chance of progressing any further as one of three nations to have reached the Round of 16 with two group stage losses. Their most recent one, in which they were unable to score against powerhouses Senegal despite having a one-man advantage for more than 20 minutes, underlines the difficulties they will face against FIFA’s fourth-highest ranked African nation. Their struggles against the continent’s elite have been evident of late, as Benin’s four defeats from their last five internationals all came against Africa’s top-12 nations in FIFA’s rankings. [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Egypt have never lost to Benin (W3, D1), with the two nations last facing off in 2010. Those four games averaged 4.75 goals per game.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Seven of Egypt’s last ten matches produced under 2.5 goals.[/p]
[p]Egypt’s last five wins were by either a single-goal margin or a penalty shootout.[/p]
[p]None of Benin’s last ten games saw both teams score.[/p]
[p]Benin’s last five matches all saw at least one first-half goal.[/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy was Flashscore’s Player of the Match against South Africa for saving all six shots on target he faced, while he also recorded his first clean sheet in five games for club or country. Benin forward Steve Mounié has never scored at an AFCON finals in six appearances, but he has been shown four yellow cards. [/p]
[p]Both sides come into this clash with full-strength squads at their disposal. [/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Despite being ponderous in the group stages, we’re expecting Egypt to get serious in the knockouts and win by a -1 handicap here. [/p]
[p][i]Author: Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]