Benin national football team

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The Benin national football team (French: Équipe nationale de Football du Bénin), nicknamed Les Guépards (The Cheetahs), represents 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. However, Benin has a unique record as the country is the first national team to reach the quarter-finals of an AFCON edition without gaining a single win in their AFCON history.

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 again 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 yet again Nigeria. They also scored only once through Razak Omotoyossi in the 4–1 defeat to the Ivory Coast.

In 2010, 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 this performance, on 8 February 2010, the BFF, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dussuyer was unaware that he had been sacked and claimed that he had not done anything wrong.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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. They 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 eventual runners-up Senegal, with a shock win over tournament favourites Morocco on penalties.

Kit history

Kit manufacturer

Kit providers Period
Template:Flagicon Adidas 1980–1992
Template:Flagicon Puma 1992–1997
Template:Flagicon Adidas 1998–2001
Template:Flagicon Erreà 2002–2006
Template:Flagicon Airness 2006–2014
Template:Flagicon Tovio 2015–2018
Template:Flagicon Umbro 2019–2022
Template:Flagicon Macron 2023–present

Results and fixtures

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The following is a list of match results in the last twelve months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

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2024

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2025

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Coaching staff

Gernot Rohr is the current manager of Benin
Position Name
Head coach Template:Flagicon Gernot Rohr
Assistant coaches Template:Flagicon Moustapha Tchawogbé
Template:Flagicon Gervais Adjanohoun
Goalkeeping coach Template:Flagicon Apollinaire Gbadamassi
Fitness coach Template:Flagicon Ibrahim Kpadenou
Match Analyst Template:Flagicon Christophe Fagbohoun
Doctors Template:Flagicon Dr. Hervé Gbalazou
Template:Flagicon Dr. Michel Djogbenou
Physiotherapists Template:Flagicon Alain Gbenou
Template:Flagicon Thomas Hounkpè
Template:Flagicon Ousmane Houssou
Template:Flagicon Maxime Tchouassi
Team coordinator Template:Flagicon Bernard Gbedjissi
Technical director Template:Flagicon Mohamed Agbassi

Coaching history

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Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Rwanda and Nigeria on 10 and 14 October 2025.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 8 October, national team coach Gernot Rohr said the Turkish Super Lig club Göztepe S.K. has been reported to FIFA by Benin Football Association. This was due to the club’s decision to prevent the player Junior Olaitan from joining the national team's training camp due to undisclosed injury.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2025, after the match against Nigeria.

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Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Benin in the last 12 months. Template:Nat fs r start Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs end

Player records

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Players in bold are still active with Benin.
Stéphane Sessègnon is Benin's top goalscorer and their most capped player.
Most appearances
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Stéphane Sessègnon 89 24 2004–2023
2 Khaled Adénon 86 2 2006–2023
3 Jodel Dossou 71 10 2013–present
4 Mickaël Poté 69 10 2008–2022
5 Steve Mounié 65 22 2015–present
6 Damien Chrysostome 58 0 2002–2011
7 Jocelyn Ahouéya 55 3 2003–2013
Razak Omotoyossi 55 21 2004–2016
9 David Kiki 54 0 2015–present
10 Romuald Boco 52 1 2004–2013
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Stéphane Sessègnon 24 89 {{#expr:24/89 round 2}} 2004–2023
2 Steve Mounié 22 65 {{#expr:22/65 round 2}} 2015–present
3 Razak Omotoyossi 21 55 {{#expr:21/55 round 2}} 2004–2016
4 Oumar Tchomogo 15 34 {{#expr:15/34 round 2}} 1995–2008
5 Jodel Dossou 10 71 {{#expr:10/71 round 2}} 2013–present
Mickaël Poté 10 69 {{#expr:10/69 round 2}} 2008–2022
7 Moussa Latoundji 6 21 {{#expr:6/21 round 2}} 1993–2004
Mouritala Ogunbiyi 6 47 {{#expr:6/47 round 2}} 1998–2019
Séïdath Tchomogo 6 51 {{#expr:6/51 round 2}} 2003–2014
10 Léon Bessan 5 20 {{#expr:5/20 round 2}} 1995–2007
Junior Olaitan 5 35 {{#expr:5/35 round 2}} 2021–present
Anicet Adjamossi 5 48 {{#expr:5/48 round 2}} 2002–2013

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip* Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 1930 to Template:Flagicon 1958 Not a FIFA member; part of France Not a FIFA member; part of France
as Template:Fb as Template:Fb
Template:Flagicon 1962 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
Template:Flagicon 1966 and Template:Flagicon 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1974 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 10
as Template:Fbicon / Template:Fb as Template:Fbicon / Template:Fb
Template:Flagicon 1978 and Template:Flagicon 1982 Did not enter Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1986 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6
Template:Flagicon 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1994 Did not qualify 6 1 0 5 3 19
Template:Flagicon 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 2
Template:Flagicon 2006 12 2 3 7 13 26
Template:Flagicon 2010 12 7 1 4 18 14
Template:Flagicon 2014 6 2 2 2 8 9
Template:Flagicon 2018 2 1 0 1 2 3
Template:Flagicon 2022 6 3 1 2 5 4
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2026 10 5 2 3 12 11
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2030 To be determined
Template:Flagicon 2034
Total − Template:Tooltip − − − − − − 60 21 10 29 63 104

Africa Cup of Nations

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip* Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 1957 Part of Template:Fb
Template:Flagicon 1959
Template:Flagicon 1962 Not affiliated to CAF
Template:Flagicon 1963
Template:Flagicon 1965 Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1968
Template:Flagicon 1970
Template:Flagicon 1972 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon 1974 Withdrew
Template:Flagicon 1976
Template:Flagicon 1978 Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1980 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon 1982 Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1984 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon 1986
Template:Flagicon 1988
Template:Flagicon 1990
Template:Flagicon 1992
Template:Flagicon 1994
Template:Flagicon 1996 Withdrew
Template:Flagicon 1998 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2000
Template:Flagicon 2002
Template:Flagicon 2004 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 1 8
Template:Flagicon 2006 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon 2008 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 7
Template:Flagicon 2010 14th 3 0 1 2 2 5
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2012 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon 2013
Template:Flagicon 2015
Template:Flagicon 2017
Template:Flagicon 2019 Quarter-finals 8th 5 0 4 1 3 4
Template:Flagicon 2021 Did not qualify
Template:Flagicon 2023
Template:Flagicon 2025 Qualified
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2027 To be determined
Template:Flagicon 2029
Total Quarter-finals 5/35 14 0 5 9 7 24

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West African Nations Cup

West African Nations Cup record
Year Round Position Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip* Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 1982 Group stage 6th 3 0 2 1 4 8
Template:Flagicon 1983 Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1984 Group stage 5th 4 0 0 4 3 9
Template:Flagicon 1986 Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1987 Group stage 7th 3 0 2 1 3 7
Total Group stage 3/5 10 0 4 6 10 24

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WAFU Nations Cup

WAFU Nations Cup record
Year Round Position Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip* Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 2010 Group stage 7th 3 0 1 2 0 5
Template:Flagicon 2011 Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 2013 Fourth place 4th 4 0 2 2 5 6
Template:Flagicon 2017 Fourth place 4th 5 2 0 3 4 8
Total Fourth place 3/4 12 2 3 7 9 19

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Honours

Regional

References

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Template:Benin national football team Template:Navboxes Template:Navboxes Template:Football in Benin Template:WAFU Football {{#invoke:navbox|navbox | name = CAF teams | title = National football teams of Africa (CAF) |listclass = hlist |group1 = North Africa (UNAF) |list1 =

|group2 = West Africa (WAFU) |list2 =

|group3 = East Africa (CECAFA) |list3 =

|group4 = Central Africa (UNIFFAC) |list4 =

|group5 = Southern Africa (COSAFA) |list5 =

|group6 = Non-regional Members |list6 =

|below= 1 Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA

{{#invoke:portal-inline|main|size=tiny|Football in Africa}} }} Template:National sports teams of Benin

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