Benin head coach, Gernot Rohr has hinted that his team be more defensive when they host Senegal for their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on June 17.
The Cheetahs last featured in an AFCON tournament in 2019 and they are hoping to make a fifth appearance in the competition in Ivory Coast next year.
They sit at the bottom of Group L with just two points after four matches, they are 10 points behind leaders Senegal and two points behind second-placed Mozambique.
After announcing his list of 25 players for next Saturday’s match at the General Mathieu Kerekou Friendship Stadium, Rohr admitted that the outing against the reigning African champions will be a tough contest.
The German coach said in a press conference: “Against Senegal, we want to play. We are at home, we have no complex. We know it’s going to be difficult, but we have to play with solid foundations.
“If you want to play and jump straight into the mouth of the wolf, it’s not going to be easy. First, you have to have a good defensive base.
“We have a lot more attacking players playing at the highest level than defensive ones. You have to have a winning team that can proceed with quick attacks. We are not pretentious and we do not think we can dominate or have an 80% ball position against Senegal.”
