Benin Coach Predicts “Interesting” Clash With Bafana Bafana

Benin coach Gernot Rohr believes the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Bafana Bafana on 25 March will be a pivotal encounter, contingent on their performance against Zimbabwe on Thursday.

Benin and Zimbabwe will meet at the neutral Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Thursday at 18:00.

Benin is among the 12 CAF member associations, as recently disclosed by CAF president Patrice Motsepe, barred from hosting home matches due to their stadiums not meeting CAF standards.

South Africa and Benin are currently tied on seven points after four matches. Rwanda leads Group C due to the head-to-head rule, followed by Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana and then Benin.

With South Africa hosting Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday, Benin has an opportunity to top Group C with 10 points if they defeat the Zimbabwe side, which features numerous PSL players, at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Thursday at 18:00.

“If we can win the match on Thursday, we can gain a slight advantage,” Rohr stated at a press conference at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday.

“It has been three years since Benin last won an away match, but we did win once, notably against Rwanda. Although the match ended 1-1, we were awarded a 3-0 victory because they fielded an ineligible player.

“So, we are aiming for our second ‘away’ win.

“We observe that Zimbabwe has a significant number of local players, while we only have two. However, a victory is possible on Thursday.”

Despite Benin’s struggles with away wins, they face a Zimbabwe team featuring current and former PSL players, including Marshal Munetsi of Wolves, Mamelodi Sundowns’ Divine Lunga, Marumo Gallants’ Washington Arubi, and former Kaizer Chiefs players Khama Billiat and Knowledge Musona.

However, Zimbabwe has not won a World Cup qualifying match since defeating Somalia in 2019 and currently sits at the bottom of the group with two points after four matches.

“If they (Zimbabwe) win, they will also have a chance to recover with five points,” Rohr continued, who was part of the Nigeria team that eliminated Bafana Bafana in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Egypt.

“I believe they will strive for victory just as we will. But if we secure the win, we will have 10 points and will then face South Africa, which could lead to a very interesting game in Abidjan on Tuesday.”

Rohr’s prediction of an interesting game comes after Bafana Bafana defeated Benin 2-1 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in November 2023, at the start of these World Cup qualifiers