Egypt assistant coach Hamada Sedki said that manager Hassan Shehata, alongside the rest of the technical staff, are satisfied over the 2-0 victory over Benin. But Sedki said that the only downside of the game was Egypt's wastefulness. "We put on a good display despite squandering so many chances," he said after the game. "Egypt targeted the victory to keep the players' confidence before the quarter-finals." The title holders already secured their place as Group C winners before taking on Benin as they beat Nigeria and Mozambique respectively. They looked on their way to a huge victory as they went two up after just 24 minutes, thanks to strikes from Ahmed Al-Muhammadi and Emad Meteb.
But Meteb, substitute Mohamed Zidan, Ahmed Raouf and Hosni Abd-Rabou missed several opportunities to widen the gap in the second-half. Sedki also said that Egypt are ready to play any team in the last eight. "Some people misinterpreted our words when we said we don't prefer to play Tunisia," he said. "It wasn't because we feared Tunisia, but because we want as many Arab sides as possible in the semi-finals." The six-time African Cup winners have yet to know their opponents in the next round. Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia and Zambia are all competing for the first two spots in Group D. Tunisia will play Cameroon and Zambia will clash with Gabon on Thursday.
