Benin Republic and Nigeria are meeting for the third time this year and all within a space of five months.

This Thursday night match is the penultimate qualifying match for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. While Nigeria’s Super Eagles are relatively in a comfortable situation in the qualifying series, it is a cliffhanger for the Cheetahs of Benin.

They cannot afford to drop points as both Rwanda and Libya are in hot pursuit.

Christian Hounongbe, a Beninese journalist at La Nation, has analysed the path that the Cheetahs have to navigate to circumvent the Super Eagles’ hurdles.

Here are the points of interest that he enunciated. To him, the key for Benin to the match is “maintaining mental and physical stability in the face of the Nigerian assaults, while correcting past mistakes.”

According to him, in the first leg match played in Uyo last September, and the one against Rwanda in Kigali, the Cheetahs’ lack of resilience was felt, especially after each goal conceded.

Hounongbe added that those goals led to loss of morale and concentration that allowed their opponents to take the upper hand.

“Against a Nigeria team brimming with talent, the Beninese will have to demonstrate mental discipline at all times, even in the event of a hard blow.

“This time, there is no question of letting themselves be destabilized. The Cheetahs must show constant fighting spirit and concentration to stand up to the Super Eagles.”

Continuing, the journalist wrote:  “Also, the tendency to withdraw must not be the order of the day in this return match. This attitude, observed after the opening goal against Rwanda, allowed the Amavubi to get back into the match.

“Against Nigeria in the first leg, an overly defensive approach left the field open to the Super Eagles, who finished with 57% possession compared to 43% for Benin.

“For this return match, it will be important for the Cheetahs to maintain a certain offensive presence, even in the event of a goal.

“The objective: not to allow Nigeria to impose its pace of play. Rather than giving in to the pressure of the opponent, the Beninese will have to build and maintain the pressure to avoid finding themselves locked in their half of the field.

Hounongbe took a retrospective view of Benin’s last match in October and pointed out that “against Rwanda, marking errors and spaces left allowed the Amavubi to multiply opportunities in the second half, putting the Beninese defense in difficulty.

“The same observation was made in the first leg against Nigeria where the Beninese defence had already conceded five shots on target.

“Against a team like Nigeria, which had attempted 13 shots in total during the first leg, the organization and defensive rigour will have to be flawless this Thursday in Abidjan.”

Hounongbe called on defenders like Rachid Mimouni, Olivier Verdon or Mohamed Tidjani to tighten the lines to minimize the positioning errors that had cost dearly in the past.

“Benin will also have to win the midfield battle. Because the loss of midfield duels was one of Benin’s weaknesses against Rwanda and Nigeria.

“In the first leg against the Super Eagles, Nigeria made 475 passes against 373 for Benin, with an accuracy of 84% against 79%.

“This dominance allowed them to impose themselves in this sector and put the Beninese under constant pressure.

“Against Rwanda, the Cheetahs also struggled, displaying only 34% possession. The key for the Cheetahs will be their ability to keep the ball in midfield and create openings.

“Better organization in midfield, avoiding losing duels and anticipating restarts, will be necessary to avoid repeating the scenario of previous matches.”

Holders Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea became the latest countries to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals but did not have to kick a ball to do so, as the penultimate round of qualifiers began on Wednesday.

The Ivorians, winners at the last finals which they hosted at the start of the year, are certain of finishing in the top two places in Group G after Sierra Leone were held to a 1-1 draw by Chad in Abidjan.

The Ivorians sit on nine points from four matches, with Zambia second in the group on seven from four. Sierra Leone have five points with one game to play and Chad are eliminated.

Chad moved the clash to the Ivory Coast because they are one of 18 countries barred from hosting international matches because of the poor state of their stadia.

They went a goal behind to Abu-Diaby Dumbuya’s stunning 29th-minute effort but equalised with a Panenka-style penalty from defender Mahamat Thiam five minutes later.

A 1-0 win for Liberia over Togo in Monrovia in Group E eliminated both countries and guaranteed Equatorial Guinea progress to the tournament in Morocco, which is to be played from Dec. 21, 2025 to Jan. 18, 2026. The top two sides in each of the 12 qualifying groups advance to the finals.

Equatorial Guinea, who were a surprise package at the last finals, sit on seven points from their four matches, while Liberia who have four points from five games and Togo have two

Even if Liberia finish with same points tally as Equatorial Guinea, who host group leaders Algeria on Thursday, they cannot overhaul them in the standings because of the head-to-head record between the two.

Equatorial Guinea beat Liberia home and away last month, but on Wednesday substitute Mohammed Sangare, who came through the ranks at Newcastle United but now plays his club football in Switzerland, tucked away an 83rd-minute penalty to ensure Liberia’s first win of the group.

It was also a maiden victory for caretaker coach Thomas Kojo, drafted in last month after Romanian Mario Marinica was fired.

Earlier on Wednesday, Cameroon hung on for a goalless draw away against Namibia in their Group J clash played in Johannesburg, South Africa

Namibia came close to snatching victory midway through the second half when diminutive forward Prins Tjiueza hit the upright with a header and then slammed the rebound onto the same post as Andre Onana kept a clean sheet for a fourth time in five matches in the qualifiers.

Cameroon had already qualified from Group J while it was the first point of the campaign for the already-eliminated Namibia.

Afterwards, Cameroon coach Marc Brys bemoaned the poor organisation which saw his side arrive less than 24 hours before kick off and have to do without Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba, who did not make it to the game on the time after playing in the Premier League at the weekend.

Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon are joined by Angola, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal in the finals.

More places should be decided on Thursday when a further nine qualifiers are played around the continent, with the likes of Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia looking likely to book their tickets to Morocco.

-Reuters

Cheetahs of Benin have suffered a major injury blow as the team hopes for a good result in this Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash with table-toppers, Super Eagles.

Defender Olivier Verdon has been ruled out of the game due to injury. However, team coach Gernot Rohr did not reveal the extent of the injury while announcing the player’s availability.

It is suspected that the player suffers from a torn hamstring. Earlier ruled out was Cédric Hountondji.

This situation reinforces the uncertainties around a weakened Beninese defence.

It also means that the player will not be available for next week’s clash with Libya.