Benin recorded their first-ever win at the Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Botswana 1-0 in their Group D encounter of the ongoing 2025 edition on Saturday, Afrosport reports.
The Cheetahs had failed to get a win in their four previous tournament outings (2004, 2008, 2010 and 2019 before losing their opener of the current competition 1-0 to DR Congo.
Benin thought they had the lead against Botswana after just four minutes, but Tosin Aiyegun’s effort was ruled out for offside. The decisive moment however came in the 28th minute when Yohan Roche rifled the ball into the net from close range off an assist from Steve Mounie.
Gernot Rohr’s side were in control for the rest of the game and held on to their historic win at the 16th time of asking.
Job done for Benin. First three points secured at #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025. 👏🇧🇯@tecnomobile pic.twitter.com/f5BZayW2Pw
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 27, 2025
The result gives them hope to make it to the knockout phase for the second time if they get a result in their final group game against Senegal in Tangier on Tuesday.
For Botswana, back-to-back defeats means they are eliminated from the competition and will play for pride in their final game against DR Congo.
