Day ten of the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations produced all the thrills and spills of a knockout tournament with Benin scoring in dying seconds of their final Group B game at Nduom Sports Stadium on Tuesday, September 19 to secure a place in the semifinals.

Niger got off to the perfect start, claiming the lead as early as the fourth minute when Victorien Adebayor struck home from a powerful shot direct from a free kick.

The Menas were dealt a blow on the quarter hour mark when they were forced to replace injured goalkeeper Daouda Kassaly after a lengthy spell for treatment. Mainassara Yahaya came off the bench to man the posts, but he was red carded five minutes after coming on after committing a reckless foul outside the box.

Niger were further reduced to nine men in the 35th minute when attacker Mahamadou Souley picked up his second yellow card and was sent for an early shower.

The Squirrels needed just two minutes with a two-man advantage to level the scores at 1-1, with defender Rodrigue Fassinou scoring an equaliser.

Benin then left it late, scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute through substitute Jules Elegbede, 2-1.

In the other Group B match at Cape Coast Sports Stadium, at the same time, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire crashed out of the WAFU tournament after playing to a goalless draw – so both the Teranga Lions and the Elephants only have themselves to blame after firing blanks in front of goal.

Cote d’Ivoire, in fact, exit the tournament without scoring a single goal while Senegal can feel a little hard done by after beating Benin 4-0 in one of their group games.

The final Group B standings see Benin finishing top with six points, followed by Niger on four points and a better head-to-head with Senegal who also have four points next to their name in third place. The Elephants are bottom with a measly two points.

Day 11 of the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations will take place on Thursday, September 21 with both semifinals taking place at Cape Coast Sports Stadium where Ghana will face Niger and Benin will take on Nigeria.