Head coach of the Benin Republic, Gernot Rohr, has highlighted Nigeria’s defence as a potential weakness ahead of their crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Afrosport reports.
The Cheetahs and the Super Eagles will lock horns at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan on Thursday as the race for a ticket to the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco heats up.
Nigeria sits atop the Group D standings with 10 points, while Benin, currently second, are closely followed by Rwanda, who have a point less and will play Libya’s Mediterranean Knights on the same day.
However, to boost their chances of qualification, the Cheetahs must get a favourable result against the Super Eagles, who are in search of just one point from their final two games to secure a berth in next year’s finals in Morocco.
Rohr, 71, is hoping his team can exploit Nigeria’s defensive frailties as they look to make it back-to-back wins against the Super Eagles in Abidjan.
“We have the return of Lenny Piringuel, who, with his new club Rouen, is starting to find his mark,” said Rohr.
“His liveliness interests us a lot, especially against a Nigerian team that could have small problems in defence, we hope.”
Benin has defeated Nigeria only once in 16 previous meetings, but the 21st-ranked team in Africa can draw some inspiration from their performance against the Super Eagles in the World Cup qualifiers in June, where they recorded a 2-1 victory at the same ground in Abidjan.
