2025 Morocco: Benin Republic Coach Rohr sweating on how to beat Super Eagles

Posted : 12 November 2024

Ahead of the crucial African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, tagged Morocco 2025, the Republic of Benin's coach, Gernot Rohr, is feeling the pressure of finding the right approach to defeat his former employer, Nigeria.

Rohr is already anxiously strategizing ways, both expected and unexpected, to beat the Super Eagles on Thursday. Rumors suggest he has adopted a "surprise and attack" tactic, intending to exploit perceived "small problems" in Nigeria’s defense to clinch a win that would stun the African football community.

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On June 10, 2024, Rohr led Benin to a surprising 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in a World Cup qualifier. The result made headlines as the defending champions, Nigeria, suffered an unexpected defeat. In that game, Raphael opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 27th minute, but Jodel Dossou equalized in the 37th, and Steve Mounié netted the winner for Benin.

Benin's stadium, the 35,000-capacity Stade de l'Amitié in Cotonou, was deemed unfit to host matches by CAF, requiring the Cheetahs (formerly the Squirrels), ranked 95th globally and 6th in Africa, to play in Abidjan as they aim for their fourth AFCON appearance, having reached the quarterfinals in 2019.

Rohr has faced criticism for inviting four players of Nigerian-Beninese descent to camp, including Serge Obassa, first-choice goalkeeper for Remo Stars in Sagamu, who traveled to Abidjan on the same flight as his club coach Daniel Ogunmodede. Other players with Nigerian roots include Junior Olaitan, Tosin Ayegun, Mohammed Tijani, Rahman Karim, and Dodo Dokou.

Having coached Nigeria from August 2016 to 2021, during which he won bronze at AFCON 2019 and qualified Nigeria for AFCON 2021 before his dismissal, Rohr knows the Super Eagles players and officials well. However, Benin faces a setback with an injury to Matteo Ahlinvi, a key player in midfield, which could be challenging against Nigeria's in-form attackers, Lookman, Osimhen, and Boniface.

Nigeria's coach, Augustine Eguavoen, recently recovered from an illness that took him to Belgium and is now leading the Eagles camp in Abidjan. The NFF has arranged a private flight for the Nigerian team to Uyo on Friday morning.

Rohr could face multiple challenges against Nigeria, who have maintained a clean sheet throughout the AFCON qualifiers, topping the group with 10 points and scoring 7 goals. Benin sits second with 6 points, scoring and conceding 6, while Rwanda follows closely with 5 points, scoring 3 goals and conceding 5. Libya lags with 1 point, scoring 2 goals and conceding 7 (including 3 awarded to Nigeria by CAF).

If Rwanda beats Libya in Matchday 5 and Benin loses to Nigeria, Benin will face pressure to win against Libya in their final group match. While Benin needs a victory in Abidjan, Nigeria requires only a draw to qualify, though they are eager to avenge the defeat Benin dealt them in June.

Historically, Nigeria has dominated the 11 encounters with Benin, winning 9 games to Benin's 2, with no draws. These matches have seen 24 goals, with Nigeria scoring 19 and Benin 5. Six of these encounters were AFCON matches, all won by Nigeria. At the World Cup level, Benin secured a 1-0 and 2-1 win, while CAF CHAN saw Nigeria defeat Benin 2-0 on August 19, 2017. A WAFU match on October 21, 2017, ended with Nigeria winning 1-0, and Nigeria also secured a 2-1 AFCON win on November 13, 2019, a 1-0 win on March 27, 2021, and most recently, a 3-0 victory in Uyo in the first leg of the AFCON qualifiers.

Nigeria, a seasoned participant in AFCON with 18 appearances, has won the title three times (1980, 1994, 2013), finished as runners-up four times (1984, 1988, 1990, 2000), and claimed bronze seven times (1976, 1978, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010).

The match between Benin and Nigeria is scheduled for Thursday at 8 pm Nigerian time, with Rwanda hosting Libya in Kigali at 5 pm the same day. Nigeria will face Rwanda in Uyo on Monday, November 18, at 5 pm, while Libya will host Benin at the same time in Group D's final match.

2025 Morocco: Benin Republic Coach Rohr sweating on how to beat Super Eagles

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