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 Cheick Elwely'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).

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.