The Benin national football team (French: Équipe nationale de Football du Bénin), nicknamed Les Guépards (The Cheetahs), represents Benin in men's international association football and are controlled by the Benin Football Federation. They were known as Dahomey until 1975, when the Republic of Dahomey became Benin.
Benin have been affiliated with FIFA since 1962 and are a member of the Confederation of African Football since 1969. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but have participated at five Africa Cups of Nations in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2019, and 2025 never placing in the top two in the group stage at all of these occasions. However, Benin has a unique record as the country is the first national team to reach the quarter-finals of an AFCON edition without gaining a single win in their AFCON history.
History Benin hosted its first official international match on 8 November 1959, a 1–0 loss to Nigeria. The match was played while the country was still a French dependency, prior to its independence on 1 August 1960.
Benin qualified for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, their first AFCON in history. However, they lost all three matches to South Africa, Morocco and again Nigeria. Benin's only goal was scored by Moussa Latoundji against Nigeria.
History repeated itself again in 2008, when Benin lost to Mali, the Ivory Coast and yet again Nigeria. They also scored only once through Razak Omotoyossi in the 4–1 defeat to the Ivory Coast.
In 2010, the Benin Football Federation's president Anjorin Moucharaf was arrested. Members of the BFF decried the imprisonment, saying that Moucharaf had been unjustly accused of fraud, leading to 12 of the 15 board members resigning in protest.
In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Benin topped their group in the second round. They started with a defeat to Angola but went on to win the next four matches and ensure their qualification before the final day. In the third round of the qualifiers, Benin finished second in their group, three points behind Ghana. Despite not qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Benin's second-place finish ensured their qualification to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, where they drew against Mozambique to receive their first ever point at the AFCON. The Squirrels then lost their other two matches against Nigeria and defending champions Egypt to finish third in their group and fail to progress to the next round. After this performance, on 8 February 2010, the BFF, not willing to accept a group stage exit for the third time in a row, dissolved the national team and sacked coach Michel Dussuyer, as well as the rest of his staff. Dussuyer was unaware that he had been sacked and claimed that he had not done anything wrong. The team became an innocent victim of enraged African countries failing to accept defeat at major tournaments and disbanding their national teams in the early 2010s, along with Nigeria, the team that Benin have met in the group stage of all three of their AFCONs before their disbandment, which were suspended for two years by President Goodluck Jonathan after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In the second round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Benin were placed in Group H with Algeria, Mali and Rwanda. They finished third in their group, failing to advance to the next round.
On 9 May 2016, FIFA suspended Benin for unknown reasons.
At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, despite advancing only as the third-best third-placed team, Benin reunited with Dussuyer, reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual runners-up Senegal, with a shock win over tournament favourites Morocco on penalties.
Kit history
Kit manufacturer Kit providers Period Adidas 1980–1991 Puma 1992–1997 Adidas 1998–2001 Erreà 2002–2005 Airness 2006–2014 Tovio 2015–2018 Umbro 2019–2022 Macron 2023–present
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last twelve months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
2027
Coaching staff
PositionNameHead coach Gernot RohrAssistant coaches Moustapha Tchawogbé Gervais AdjanohounGoalkeeping coach Apollinaire GbadamassiFitness coach Ibrahim KpadenouMatch Analyst Christophe FagbohounDoctors Dr. Hervé Gbalazou Dr. Michel DjogbenouPhysiotherapists Alain Gbenou Thomas Hounkpè Ousmane Houssou Maxime TchouassiTeam coordinator Bernard GbedjissiTechnical director Mohamed Agbassi
Coaching history
Serge Devèze Wabi Gomez Peter Schnittger (1992) Moise Ekoue (1993) Cecil Jones Attuquayefio (2003–2004) Hervé Revelli (2004) Edmé Codjo (2005–2007) Didier Notheaux (2007) Reinhard Fabisch (2007–2008) Michel Dussuyer (2008–2010) Jean-Marc Nobilo (2010) Denis Goavec (2010–2011) Edmé Codjo (2011–2012) Manuel Amoros (2012–2014) Didier Ollé-Nicolle (2014) Oumar Tchomogo (2015–2017) Michel Dussuyer (2018–2021) Moussa Latoundji (2022–2023) Gernot Rohr (2023–present)
Players
Current squad The following players were called up for the friendly match against Argentina on 6 October 2026.
Caps and goals correct as of 5 January 2026, after the match against Egypt.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.
Notes PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Benin.
+Most appearancesRankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer 1 Stéphane Sessègnon 89 24 2004–2023 2 Khaled Adénon 86 2 2006–2023 3 Jodel Dossou 77 11 2013–present4 Steve Mounié 71 23 2015–present Mickaël Poté 69 10 2008–2022 6 Damien Chrysostome 58 0 2002–2011 7 David Kiki 56 0 2015–present 8 Jocelyn Ahouéya 55 3 2003–2013 Razak Omotoyossi 55 21 2004–2016 10 Romuald Boco 52 1 2004–2013
+Top goalscorersRankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer 1 Stéphane Sessègnon 24 89 2004–2023 2 Steve Mounié 23 71 2015–present 3 Razak Omotoyossi 21 55 2004–2016 4 Oumar Tchomogo 15 34 1995–2008 5 Jodel Dossou 11 77 2013–present 6 Mickaël Poté 10 69 2008–20227 Moussa Latoundji 6 21 1993–2004 Mouritala Ogunbiyi 6 47 1998–2019 Séïdath Tchomogo 6 51 2003–201410 Léon Bessan 5 20 1995–2007 Junior Olaitan 5 42 2021–present Anicet Adjamossi 5 48 2002–2013
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition* 1930 to 1958Not a FIFA member; part of FranceNot a FIFA member; part of Franceas as 1962Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1966 and 1970Did not enterDid not enter 1974Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 10as / as / 1978 and 1982Did not enterDid not enter 1986Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6 1990Did not enterDid not enter 1994Did not qualify 6 1 0 5 3 19 1998Did not enterDid not enter 2002Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 2 2006 12 2 3 7 13 26 2010 12 7 1 4 18 14 2014 6 2 2 2 8 9 2018 2 1 0 1 2 3 2022631254 2026105231211 2030To be determined 2034Total−−−−−−−6021102963104
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations recordYearRoundPosition* 1957Part of 1959 1962Not affiliated to CAF 1963 1965Did not enter 1968 1970 1972Did not qualify 1974Withdrew 1976 1978Did not enter 1980Did not qualify 1982Did not enter 1984Did not qualify 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996Withdrew 1998Did not qualify 2000 2002 2004Group stage16th300318 2006Did not qualify 2008Group stage15th300317 201014th301225 2012Did not qualify 2013 2015 2017 2019Quarter-finals8th504134 2021Did not qualify 2023 2025Round of 1614th410327 2027To be determined 2029TotalQuarter-finals5/35181512931
West African Nations Cup West African Nations Cup recordYearRoundPosition* 1982Group stage6th302148 1983Did not enter 1984Group stage5th400439 1986Did not enter 1987Group stage7th302137TotalGroup stage3/5100461024
WAFU Nations Cup WAFU Nations Cup recordYearRoundPosition* 2010Group stage7th301205 2011Did not enter 2013Fourth place4th402256 2017Fourth place4th520348TotalFourth place3/412237919
Honours Regional UEMOA Tournament Runners-up (1): 2013
References
External links
Football au Bénin Benin at CAF Benin at FIFA Le miroir du football béninois!