Football : Benin still at a crossroads

From Squirrels to Cheetahs, will the away qualifying battle finally change the outcome for the
Benign ?

The toughest still believe in it. Convinced to the extreme. Perhaps out of chauvinism. The supposedly enlightened put less heart into it. A lot of behavior and restraint in the forecasts.
And there are the soldiers. Probably the big mass. Psychologically prepared and armed. Prepared for all eventualities.

For the third time in three years, Benin will have to seek qualification on foreign soil. Often hostile. To believe that Cheetahs are particularly fond of spicy meals, emotions on alternating current, the roads of the improbable. From the most Hollywood scenarios to conspiracy theories, or through the robberies with arbitrarily assisted penalty kicks, Benin has suffered the worst setbacks over the past three years. Of all its history, it’s only once that the national team has been able to secure an away qualification. It was in 2007 facing a Sierra Leone team already eliminated. Since, there was the Bamako debacle in 2017 against Mali, l'arnaque of Sierra Leone in 2021 and the disillusionment of Kinshasa the same year.

Place in Maputo

When going to challenge Mozambique in Maputo, unhappy memories of previous episodes are bound to cross your mind. And it may also be there that the fate of this Saturday's match will be decided. 09 September : The ability of cheetahs to channel their emotions and mentally resist. The Benin group today has young players launched by the coach whose ultimate vocation is to rejuvenate the team while keeping it competitive.. The trap with young people, hot to cold only takes a moment of deconcentration.

We already imagine hell in every square centimeter of the 42.000 Maputo national stadium seats. Just like Benin, the mambas total 4 participation in the CAN (1986, 1996, 1998 and 2010). 13 years that an entire country has been waiting to taste again the honey of the most wonderful hive of African football. A national campaign, with great media support, was also initiated to build the red wall facing Benin. So close to the goal, Mozambique wants to finish the job at home.

Au mental

This means that beyond any tactical thinking, of any philosophical consideration, Gernot Willi Rohr must be able to get into the heads of the players and put words there that will resonate as strongly as the expectations of Beninese. A transcendent speech to rock the 25 designated cheetahs in a new dimension. We would gladly put a camera on to listen to this talk of the greatest importance. Fan whims.

Meetings of this nature represent a barometer to identify the mental strength of a team. This is what distinguishes nations like Nigeria, Cameroon or even Algeria where the culture of “fighting spirit” (fighting spirit ) is almost a principle of life.

In 2019, against Togo at home, for the last day of the CAN qualifiers, Olivier Verdon gave an avant-garde speech : “90 minutes, it's nothing in life”. The “general mental” will he still speak ? Will his words pierce the walls ?

Storm in sight off the turquoise waters of Maputo.

Herman Rodrigue AMEGAN / Reporter, sports commentator and presenter