A late Ryan Mendes penalty helped Cape Verde overcome Mauritania to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for just the second time.
The game looked set for extra time until Yassine El Welly’s careless defensive header inadvertently played in Benchimol, who was brought down by goalkeeper Babacar Niasse.
Captain Mendes did the rest, smashing his spot kick hard down the middle in the 88th minute.
The result sets up a quarter-final against either Morocco or South Africa on Saturday (20:00 GMT).
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Both teams had chances in a lively and fully committed encounter, leaving everything out on the field in Abidjan – but the match ultimately lacked real quality, especially in the final third.
Playing in their first-ever Nations Cup knockout game, Mauritania looked full of energy early on, with livewire runners bursting from deep, the lustrous gold trim and numbers of their kit sparkling in the late afternoon sunshine.
But it was Mendes who nearly broke the deadlock after nine minutes, racing on to a long ball over the top and lifting a delicate lob from distance over the despairing Niasse but wide.
It would have been a stunning opener.
Cape Verde secured their third win in four matches at the 2023 Afcon finals thanks to Mendes’ (wearing 20) penalty
After the fast start, the game turned scrappy midway through the first half and it was Lions of Chinguetti head coach Amir Abdou who began catching the eye more than the players on the pitch.
A nervous ball of energy dressed all in black, the man who also led Comoros to the last 16 in Cameroon two years ago never stopped marching back and forth in his technical area, gesticulating and barking instructions.
With most of the crowd backing Abdou’s side, Mauritania dominated the early stages of the second period.
Aboubakary Koita put a direct free-kick on to the roof of the net before Souleymane Anne wasted his team’s best chance just before the hour mark.
As Cape Verde’s defence looked to block another surging run into the penalty area, the ball fell kindly to Anne, who blazed his left-footed effort high and wide when it looked easier to score, leaving the forward lying star-shaped on the floor in disbelief.
With extra-time beckoning, and with Mauritania beginning to tire, it was the Blue Sharks who pushed hardest for a winner.
Garry Rodrigues’ powerful drive stung the palms of Niasse, parrying the ball as far as Jovane Cabral, who then saw his follow-up blocked.
From the resulting corner, Mendes’ glancing header was also well saved.
But Cape Verde’s all-time appearance holder was not to be denied, calmly converting the crucial penalty when it arrived to also extend his record as his country’s leading goalscorer.
Ten minutes were added on but Mauritania never looked like finding an equaliser, meaning Cape Verde claim their first knockout win at an Afcon.
Having never won more than one game at a single Afcon edition, Cape Verde have already won three times in Ivory Coast
- Line-ups
- Match Stats
- Live Text
Line-ups
Cape Verde
Formation 4-3-3
1Évora Dias23Moreira5Evans Costa4Lopes8Moreira Fernandes10Monteiro Alvarenga26Gonçalves Pereira de Pina14D’Encarnação Duarte20Mendes da Graça21Dias Correia7Borges Cabral
- 1Évora Dias
- 23MoreiraSubstituted forJohnson Semedo Afonsoat 90+5’minutes
- 5Evans Costa
- 4Lopes
- 8Moreira Fernandes
- 10Monteiro Alvarenga
- 26Gonçalves Pereira de PinaBooked at 11mins
- 14D’Encarnação DuarteSubstituted forRocha Santosat 71’minutes
- 20Mendes da Graça
- 21Dias CorreiaSubstituted forMendes Rodriguesat 71’minutes
- 7Borges CabralSubstituted forBenchimol Tavaresat 85’minutes
Substitutes
- 2dos Santos Tavares
- 3Monteiro Sanches Borges
- 6Correia Andrade
- 9Benchimol Tavares
- 11Mendes Rodrigues
- 12Salomão Brazão da Rosa
- 13Pereira Fernandes
- 16Tavares dos Santos
- 17Johnson Semedo Afonso
- 18Rocha Santos
- 19Silva Teixeira Jr.
- 24Garcia da Silva
Mauritania
Formation 4-4-1-1
16Niasse20Keita21Houbeib5Ba2Diaw23Amar8Bodda4Gassama9Tanjy19Koïta11Anne
- 16NiasseBooked at 87mins
- 20KeitaSubstituted forEl Wellyat 79’minutes
- 21Houbeib
- 5Ba
- 2Diaw
- 23AmarSubstituted forKamaraat 66’minutes
- 8Bodda
- 4GassamaSubstituted forFofanaat 35’minutes
- 9TanjySubstituted forBâat 66’minutes
- 19Koïta
- 11AnneSubstituted forBaat 80’minutes
Substitutes
- 1Diaw
- 3Abeid
- 6Fofana
- 7Ba
- 10Thiam
- 12Camara
- 15Doukara
- 17El Welly
- 24N’Diaye
- 25Bâ
- 26Ngom
- 27Kamara
Referee:Mohamed AdelAttendance:16,088
Match Stats
Home TeamCape VerdeAway TeamMauritaniaPossessionHome69%Away31%ShotsHome18Away11Shots on TargetHome4Away0CornersHome11Away1FoulsHome18Away12
Live Text
Post update
Match ends, Cabo Verde 1, Mauritania 0.
- 90’+11′
Full Time
Second Half ends, Cabo Verde 1, Mauritania 0.
- 90’+8′
Post update
Foul by Kevin Pina (Cabo Verde).
- 90’+8′
Post update
Aboubakary Koïta (Mauritania) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 90’+6′
Post update
Attempt missed. Aboubakary Koïta (Mauritania) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
- 90’+5′
Post update
Foul by João Paulo (Cabo Verde).
- 90’+5′
Post update
Aboubakar Kamara (Mauritania) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
- 90’+5′
Substitution
Substitution, Cabo Verde. Willy Semedo replaces Steven Moreira.
- 90’+4′
Post update
Attempt blocked. Kenny Rocha (Cabo Verde) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Garry Rodrigues.
- 90’+3′
Post update
Corner, Cabo Verde. Conceded by Hassan Houbeib.
- 90′
Post update
Attempt blocked. Aboubakary Koïta (Mauritania) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
- 88′
Post update
Goal! Cabo Verde 1, Mauritania 0. Ryan Mendes (Cabo Verde) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
- 87′
Booking
Babacar Niasse (Mauritania) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
- 86′
Post update
Penalty Cabo Verde. Gilson Benchimol draws a foul in the penalty area.
- 86′
Post update
Penalty conceded by Babacar Niasse (Mauritania) after a foul in the penalty area.
- 85′
Substitution
Substitution, Cabo Verde. Gilson Benchimol replaces Jovane Cabral.
- 84′
Post update
Attempt blocked. Aboubakar Kamara (Mauritania) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Hassan Houbeib.
- 83′
Post update
Foul by Jovane Cabral (Cabo Verde).
- 83′
Post update
Yassin El Welly (Mauritania) wins a free kick on the right wing.
- 80′
Post update
Corner, Cabo Verde. Conceded by Aboubakar Kamara.
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