Gernot Rohr: ‘A new mentality’ drives Benin’s AFCON 2027 charge

Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr says a “new mentality” lies behind Benin's start to AFCON 2027 qualifying, after a 4-1 win over the Central African Republic took the Cheetahs to the top of Group F with seven points from three games.

The German, who led Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup and a bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, has now taken Benin unbeaten through the first half of their qualifying group.

Benin drew 1-1 with Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou in September, beat Mauritania 2-1, and then beat the Central African Republic on Thursday at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, where they play their home games because Cotonou has no approved stadium. They were 3-1 up at half-time.

Rohr: ‘It is very encouraging, but we must remain cautious'

Rohr credited the shape his side now plays, in comments reported by AfricaSoccer.com.

“We were able to win so convincingly thanks to our seriousness, the 4-3-3 system that we are mastering better and better, and the individual and collective quality of the squad.”

He tied the progress to the last Africa Cup of Nations.

“There has been a new mentality for several months. I think that Africa Cup of Nations allowed the team to make progress. It gained experience, became more mature and developed greater confidence.”

The coach was quick to look ahead to Monday's return game against the same opponents in Douala, which he called a likely “difficult match” against a side with no points that will see it as their last chance to stay in the race.

“Taking a point away from home would be a good result, but we will be ambitious. A victory would bring us really close to qualification.”

Analysis: Rohr's Benin have the start Nigeria wanted

Seven points from three games, with seven goals scored and three conceded, is the kind of first half of a group that Nigeria fans would have taken gladly in September. The Super Eagles, by contrast, reached the same stage of their own group on six points, after a 3-0 defeat in Guinea-Bissau, and still trail the leaders in Group L.

The detail worth noticing is Rohr's point about style. He said Benin play differently with or without their target man, looking for “his aerial ability” when he is on the pitch and keeping the ball on the ground when he is not. It gives Benin two ways to win games, and they have yet to lose in the group.

The caution is justified. Monday's game is technically away from home, and a side with nothing left to lose can be awkward. But a win in Douala would put ten points on the board with two games left, which is why Rohr himself talks of being really close to qualification.

Rohr's Benin face the Central African Republic in Douala on Monday, a day before the Super Eagles play Tanzania in Zanzibar with Group L's only open place on the line. Rohr's earlier Benin call for a Nigeria-born striker caused a stir of its own in September.