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Benin national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Benin women's national football team.
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Benin
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Les Guépards
(The Cheetahs)
Formerly: Les Ecureuils (The Squirrels)
Association Benin Football Federation
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach Moussa Latoundji (caretaker)
Captain Khaled Adénon
Most caps Stéphane Sessègnon (83)
Top scorer Stéphane Sessègnon (24)
Home stadium Stade de l'Amitié
FIFA code BEN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 94 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 59 (November–December 2009, April 2010)
Lowest 165 (July 1996)
Elo ranking
Current 107 Decrease 5 (3 March 2019)
Highest 56 (December 1964)
Lowest 165 (13 May 1995)
First international
 Dahomey 0–1 Nigeria 
(Dahomey; 8 November 1959)
Biggest win
 Dahomey 7–0 Mauritania 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 27 December 1961)
Biggest defeat
 Nigeria 10–1 Dahomey 
(Nigeria; 28 November 1959)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 4 (first in 2004)
Best result Quarter-finals (2019)

The Benin national football team (French: Équipe nationale de Football du Benin), nicknamed Les Guépards (The Cheetahs), represent Benin in men's international association football and are controlled by the Benin Football Federation. They were known as Dahomey until 1975, when the Republic of Dahomey became Benin.

Benin have been affiliated with FIFA since 1962 and are a member of the Confederation of African Football since 1969. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but have participated at four Africa Cups of Nations in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2019, never placing in the top two in the group stage at all of these occasions.

History

Benin hosted its first official international match on 8 November 1959, a 1-0 loss to Nigeria. The match was played while the country was still a French dependency, prior to its independence on 1 August 1960.

Benin qualified for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, their first AFCON in history. However, they lost all three matches to South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria. Benin's only goal was scored by Moussa Latoundji against Nigeria.

History repeated itself again in 2008, when Benin lost to Mali, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Again, they scored only one goal through Razak Omotoyossi in the 4-1 defeat to the Ivory Coast.

In 2010, Benin's football championship was suspended after the Benin Football Federation's president, Anjorin Moucharaf, was arrested. Members of the BFF decried the imprisonment, saying that Moucharaf had been unjustly accused of fraud, leading to 12 of the 15 board members resigning in protest.

In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Benin topped their group in the second round. They started with a defeat to Angola but went on to win the next four matches and ensure their qualification before the final day. In the third round of the qualifiers, Benin finished second in their group, three points behind Ghana. Despite not qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Benin's second place finish ensured their qualification to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, where they drew against Mozambique to receive their first ever point at the AFCON. The Squirrels then lost their other two matches against Nigeria and defending champions Egypt to finish third in their group and fail to progress to the next round. After that disastrous performance, on 8 February 2010, the Benin Football Federation, not willing to accept a group stage exit for the third time in a row, dissolved the national team and sacked coach Michel Dussuyer, as well as the rest of his staff. Dussuyer was unaware that he had been sacked and claimed that he had not done anything wrong. The team became an innocent victim of enraged African countries failing to accept defeat at major tournaments and disbanding their national teams in the early 2010s, along with Nigeria, the team that Benin have met in the group stage of all three of their AFCONs before their disbandment, which were suspended for two years by President Goodluck Jonathan after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In the second round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Benin were placed in Group H with Algeria, Mali and Rwanda. Benin finished third in their group, failing to advance to the next round.

On 9 May 2016, FIFA suspended Benin for unknown reasons.

At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, despite advancing only as the third-best third-placed team, Benin, reunited with Dussuyer, reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to Senegal, with a shock win over Morocco.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss

2021

2022

2023

Coaching history

  • France Serge Devèze
  • Benin Wabi Gomez
  • Germany Peter Schnittger (1992)
  • Benin Moise Ekoue (1993)
  • Ghana Cecil Jones Attuquayefio (2003–2004)
  • France Hervé Revelli (2004)
  • Benin Edmé Codjo (2005–2007)
  • France Didier Notheaux (2007)
  • Germany Reinhard Fabisch (2007–2008)
  • France Michel Dussuyer (2008–2010)
  • France Jean-Marc Nobilo (2010)
  • France Denis Goavec (2010–2011)
  • Benin Edmé Codjo (2011–2012)
  • France Manuel Amoros (2012–2014)
  • France Didier Ollé-Nicolle (2014)
  • Benin Oumar Tchomogo (2015–2017)
  • France Michel Dussuyer (2018–2021)
  • Benin Moussa Latoundji (2022–)

Players

Current squad

  • The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.
  • Match dates: 4 and 8 June 2022
  • Opposition:  Senegal and  Mozambique
  • Caps and goals correct as of: 8 June 2022, after the match against  Mozambique
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
16 1GK Saturnin Allagbé (1993-11-22) 22 November 1993 (age 30) 36 0 France Dijon
1GK Marcel Dandjinou (1998-06-25) 25 June 1998 (age 25) 2 0 South Africa JDR Stars
1GK Loukmane Farou Moussa (2002-07-01) 1 July 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Sweden Hammarby TFF
2DF Khaled Adénon (1985-07-28) 28 July 1985 (age 38) 81 2 Republic of Cyprus Doxa Katokopias
12 2DF David Kiki (1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 (age 30) 37 0 Romania Farul Constanța
6 2DF Olivier Verdon (1995-10-05) 5 October 1995 (age 28) 29 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
2 2DF Youssouf Assogba (2001-08-21) 21 August 2001 (age 22) 17 0 France Amiens
2DF Moïse Adiléhou (1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 28) 14 1 Azerbaijan Zira
2DF Melvyn Doremus (1996-10-29) 29 October 1996 (age 27) 11 0 France Chambly
5 2DF Yohan Roche (1997-07-07) 7 July 1997 (age 26) 8 1 Turkey Adanaspor
2DF Mohamed Tijani (1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 26) 1 0 Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň
3MF Jordan Adéoti (1989-03-12) 12 March 1989 (age 34) 44 1 France Laval
3MF Sessi D'Almeida (1995-11-20) 20 November 1995 (age 28) 24 1 France Pau
7 3MF Mattéo Ahlinvi (1999-07-02) 2 July 1999 (age 24) 11 0 France Dijon
18 3MF Junior Olaitan (2002-05-09) 9 May 2002 (age 21) 10 1 France Chamois Niortais
3MF Ryan Adigo (2001-04-15) 15 April 2001 (age 22) 1 0 Germany Phönix Lübeck
4FW Mickaël Poté (1984-09-24) 24 September 1984 (age 39) 69 10 Republic of Cyprus Mağusa Türk Gücü
20 4FW Jodel Dossou (1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 31) 50 7 France Clermont Foot
4FW Steve Mounié (1994-09-29) 29 September 1994 (age 29) 42 13 France Brest
14 4FW Cebio Soukou (1992-10-02) 2 October 1992 (age 31) 21 4 Germany SV Sandhausen
4FW Marcellin Koukpo (1995-04-06) 6 April 1995 (age 28) 18 2 Algeria Constantine
4FW Désiré Segbé Azankpo (1993-05-06) 6 May 1993 (age 30) 15 0 Germany Bayern Munich II
4FW Tosin Aiyegun (1998-06-28) 28 June 1998 (age 25) 5 2 Switzerland Zürich
4FW Angel Chibozo (2003-07-01) 1 July 2003 (age 20) 1 0 France Amiens

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Benin in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Guillaume Agbégninou (1999-12-26) 26 December 1999 (age 23) 0 0 Cameroon Coton Sport v.  Togo, 29 March 2022
DF Cédric Hountondji (1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 29) 18 0 France Angers v.  Congo DR, 14 November 2021
DF Djalilou Ouorou (1997-07-18) 18 July 1997 (age 26) 3 0 Benin ASPAC v.  Congo DR, 14 November 2021
DF Abdou Bourou (2000-10-13) 13 October 2000 (age 23) 1 0 Togo ASKO Kara v.  Congo DR, 14 November 2021
MF Rodrigue Kossi (2000-07-11) 11 July 2000 (age 23) 9 0 Tunisia Club Africain v.  Togo, 29 March 2022
MF Jérôme Bonou (1994-01-27) 27 January 1994 (age 29) 6 0 Cameroon Coton Sport v.  Congo DR, 14 November 2021
FW Tidjani Anaane (1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 26) 11 0 Turkey Doxa Katokopias v.  Togo, 29 March 2022
FW Roland Béakou (2001-08-20) 20 August 2001 (age 22) 1 0 Benin ESAE v.  Togo, 29 March 2022
FW Charbel Gomez (2001-01-27) 27 January 2001 (age 22) 16 0 France Amiens v.  Congo DR, 14 November 2021

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Benin.

Competitive records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to Mexico 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 1 10
Argentina 1978 to Spain 1982 Did not enter Did not enter
Mexico 1986 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6
Italy 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1994 Did not qualify 6 1 0 5 3 19
France 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 2
Germany 2006 12 2 3 7 13 26
South Africa 2010 6 3 1 2 6 6
Brazil 2014 6 2 2 2 8 9
Russia 2018 2 1 0 1 2 3
Qatar 2022 6 3 1 2 5 4
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined Qualification yet to start
Total − 0/23 − − − − − − 45 12 8 25 39 85

Africa Cup of Nations

Main page: Benin at the Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Part of  France
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962 Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965 Did not enter
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970
Cameroon 1972 Did not qualify
Egypt 1974 Withdrew
Ethiopia 1976
Ghana 1978 Did not enter
Nigeria 1980 Did not qualify
Libya 1982 Did not enter
Côte d'Ivoire 1984 Did not qualify
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996 Withdrew
Burkina Faso 1998 Did not qualify
Ghana Nigeria 2000
Mali 2002
Tunisia 2004 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 1 8
Egypt 2006 Did not qualify
Ghana 2008 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 7
Angola 2010 Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 2 5
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012 Did not qualify
South Africa 2013
Equatorial Guinea 2015
Gabon 2017
Egypt 2019 Quarter-finals 8th 5 0 4 1 3 4
Cameroon 2021 Did not qualify
Côte d'Ivoire 2023 To be determined
2025
Total Quarter-finals 4/33 14 0 5 9 7 24

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Benín para niños

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