Benin at the Africa Cup of Nations

Benin is a weaker side in the Africa Cup of Nations, and only managed four appearances in the tournament. Benin first appeared in 2004,[1] before qualifying again in 2008, 2010, 2019 and 2025. While Benin has never finished a group stage in the top two in AFCON history, nor even won a single match in the competition, the nation managed its best performance in the 2019 tournament, when they reached the quarter-finals, including a shock win over Morocco on penalties.[2] This made Benin the first team to reach the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations without ever winning a single competitive match in regulation in their participation history.

Overall record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Part of  France
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962 Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965 Did not enter
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970
Cameroon 1972 Did not qualify
Egypt 1974 Withdrew
Ethiopia 1976
Ghana 1978 Did not enter
Nigeria 1980 Did not qualify
Libya 1982 Did not enter
Ivory Coast 1984 Did not qualify
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996 Withdrew
Burkina Faso 1998 Did not qualify
Ghana Nigeria 2000
Mali 2002
Tunisia 2004 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 1 8
Egypt 2006 Did not qualify
Ghana 2008 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 7
Angola 2010 Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 2 5
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012 Did not qualify
South Africa 2013
Equatorial Guinea 2015
Gabon 2017
Egypt 2019 Quarter-finals 8th 5 0 4 1 3 4
Cameroon 2021 Did not qualify
Ivory Coast 2023
Morocco 2025 Qualified
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027 To be determined
Total Quarter-finals 5/35 14 0 5 9 7 24

Squads

Participation history

2004 Tunisia

Group stage
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Morocco 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7
 Nigeria 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6
 South Africa 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4
 Benin 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
South Africa 2–0 Benin
Nomvethe 58', 76'
Attendance: 12,000
Morocco 4–0 Benin
Chamakh 17'
Mokhtari 73'
Ouaddou 75'
El Karkouri 80'
Attendance: 20,000
Nigeria 2–1 Benin
Lawal 35'
Utaka 76'
Latoundji 90'
Attendance: 15,000

2008 Ghana

Group stage
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Ivory Coast 3 3 0 0 8 1 +7 9
 Nigeria 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 4
 Mali 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 4
 Benin 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Mali 1–0 Benin
Kanouté 49' (pen.) Report
Ivory Coast 4–1 Benin
Drogba 40'
Y. Touré 44'
Keïta 53'
Dindane 63'
Report Omotoyossi 90'
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Kenias Marange (Zimbabwe)
Nigeria 2–0 Benin
Mikel 53'
Yakubu 86'
Report
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Kacem Bennaceur (Tunisia)

2010 Angola

Group stage
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Egypt 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9
 Nigeria 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
 Benin 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
 Mozambique 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1
Mozambique 2–2 Benin
Miro 29'
Fumo 54'
Report Omotoyossi 14' (pen.)
Khan 20' (o.g.)
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Khalid Abdel Rahman (Sudan)
Nigeria 1–0 Benin
Yakubu 42' (pen.) Report
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Hélder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)
Egypt 2–0 Benin
Elmohamady 7'
Moteab 23'
Report

2019 Egypt

Group stage
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Ghana 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 5 Advance to knockout stage
2  Cameroon 3 1 2 0 2 0 +2 5
3  Benin 3 0 3 0 2 2 0 3
4  Guinea-Bissau 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 1
Source: CAF
Ghana 2–2 Benin
Report
Attendance: 8,094[4]
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)
Benin 0–0 Guinea-Bissau
Report
Attendance: 9,212[5]
Referee: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (Burundi)
Benin 0–0 Cameroon
Report
Attendance: 14,120[6]
Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia)
Round of sixteen
Morocco 1–1 (a.e.t.) Benin
Report
Penalties
1–4
Attendance: 7,500[7]
Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)
Quarter-finals
Senegal 1–0 Benin
Report
Attendance: 5,798[8]

References

  1. ^ "Football 365 - Toute l'actualité du foot en direct - Football".
  2. ^ "Benin shock Morocco to reach last eight". BBC Sport.
  3. ^ Kick-off delayed by 15 minutes due to floodlight failure
  4. ^ "Ghana vs. Benin". ESPN. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Benin vs. Guinea-Bissau". ESPN. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Benin vs. Cameroon". ESPN. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Morocco vs. Benin". ESPN. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Senegal vs. Benin". ESPN. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.