Mohamed Salah's Egypt face South Africa as 2019 Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage offers intriguing pairings

Nigeria take on defending champions Cameroon in the pick of the last-16 games

A young Egypt fan holds up a picture of Egypt's Mohamed Salah before the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations match against Uganda at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo. Salah had been criticised in his homeland for defending teammate Amr Warda's expulsion from the squad over allegations of sexual harassment. Reuters

Egypt's Mohamed Salah opened the scoring with a superb free kick. EPA

Uganda players react after conceding their first goal scored by Egypt's Mohamed Salah. Reuters

Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their first goal. Reuters

Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah runs with the ball. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah in action. Reuters

Egypt's Ahmed El Mohamady scores their second goal against Uganda, his second goal in as many games at 2019 Afcon. Reuters

Egypt defender Ahmed Elmohamady, right, celebrates his goal with Ahmed Hegazi. AFP

The Egyptian players pose before the match. EPA

Egypt's Ayman Ashraf, left, in action against Uganda's Faruku Miya. EPA

Egypt head coach Javier Aguirre shouts instructions from the sidelines. EPA

Uganda head coach Sebastien Desabre gives instructions from the sidelines. EPA

An Egypt fan before the match. Reuters

Uganda players pose before the match. EPA

Egypt's Mohamed Salah poses for a selfie with a fan after the match. Reuters

Players greet each other after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group A match between Uganda and Egypt at the Cairo International Stadium. Egypt won the match 2-0 but both teams advanced to the last 16. AFP

Egypt's Tarek Hamed, right, in action against Uganda's Allan Kyambadde. EPA

Egypt's Ahmed Hegazi, right, and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy in action against Uganda's Emmanuel Arnold Okwi. EPA

Egypt forward Marwan Mohsen, right, challenges Uganda goalkeeper Robert Odongkara. AFP

Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates with teammate Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan after scoring against Uganda. EPA

Permutations for the last 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations were up in the air until Tuesday’s close of the group phase and delivered some intriguing pairings for the weekend’s knockout-stage matches.

The failure of holders Cameroon to beat Benin in their last Group F game on Tuesday saw them usurped at the top of the standings and condemned to a meeting with three-time winners Nigeria in Alexandria on Saturday, while hosts Egypt will take on South Africa the same day.

"I am very satisfied because we are in the next round although we are disappointed because we wanted to win the match," Cameroon's Dutch manager Clarence Seedorf following Tuesday's stalemate in Ismailia.

Tunisia, who are in second place in the African rankings, will be up against Ghana, who saw off Guinea-Bissau thanks to goals from Jordan Ayew and Thomas Partey at the Suez Stadium on Tuesday, while the Ivory Coast take on Mali.

It looks a lot easier for Morocco and Algeria, who like Egypt came through the first round with a 100 per cent record, and look genuine contenders.

Morocco play Benin in Friday’s first game while Algeria will also fancy their chances against Guinea on Sunday.

Senegal, also among the pre-tournament favourites and the continent's top-ranked team, take on Uganda.

Cameroon would have wanted to avoid neighbours Nigeria until the later stages of the tournament but the clash was forced upon them by their failure to score in two successive goalless draws in the opening-round group stage.

The derby is the pick of the eight second-round ties to be played between Friday and Monday as the extra knockout round is introduced to the tournament for the first time with the expansion of the field to 24 teams.

The new format also meant an anxious wait for teams who finished third in their group standings.

The best four advanced, with South Africa the last team to be confirmed when Angola lost to Mali in Ismailia on Tuesday.

Benin players celebrate after a 0-0 draw against Cameroon sent them through to the last 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Reuters

Earlier Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin had filled places, eliminating Kenya, who had still been in contention before the last day of group play.

South Africa lost two of their three Group D games in largely insipid performances and will not cause Egypt any sleepless nights before Saturday’s meeting in Cairo.

The surprise team of the first round were Madagascar, who upset Nigeria in a shock win to top Group B, and their reward is a meeting with DR Congo on Sunday - one the islanders will feel they have every chance of winning to continue their fairy-tale debut at the finals.