The match, though, was marred by a controversial third goal by midfielder Ahmed Hassan which was allowed to stand by referee Jerome Damon despite replays showing the ball had clearly not crossed the line.

By that time Egypt captain Hassan, who was winning a record 170th cap for his country, had already scored an own goal to put Cameroon ahead after 26 minutes.

Hassan scored again at the other end to pull his side level with a powerful long-range strike before half-time which eventually forced the game into an additional 30 minutes in Benguela.

Substitute Mohamed Gedo then capitalised on an error from Geremi to put Egypt ahead in extra-time, before Hassan's controversial strike handed them a two-goal cushion.

To make matters worse for Paul Le Guen'sCameroon, Aurelien Chedjou was sent off late on as the north Africans set up a tantalising last-four clash with old foes Algeria.

Egypt's third goal seems certain to place South African referee Damon in the spotlight.

Hassan's free-kick from the left was pushed onto the underside of the crossbar by the Espanyol goalkeeper and did not cross the line when it hit the ground, but was still allowed to stand, to the dismay of the Cameroon players.

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Vincent Enyeama was the hero for Nigeria saving one penalty and then scoring the crucial final one to help his side seal a place in the African Nations Cup semi-finals with a shoot-out victory over Zambia.

The Super Eagles, outplayed for large parts of the clash in Lubango, looked to be heading for the exit door after struggling in the face of their determined opponents, who did everything apart from finding the back of the net during the 120 minutes of open play.

They had chances aplenty, in the second half especially, but failed to convert any with the heartbreak of spot-kicks eventually deciding their fate - Thomas Nyrienda missing the one penalty that made all the difference.

It handed Shaibu Amodu's team a place in the last four, where they will face fierce west African rivals Ghana on Thursday.

But in what was an indifferent showing, they looked the more dangerous of the two sides through the opening exchanges of the game, with their confidence from the 3-0 win over Mozambique in their last group game still evident.

Despite their dominance, though, they failed to carve out too many openings.