Benin coach Gernot Rohr confident of securing historic World Cup qualification

Head coach of Benin Gernot Rohr is confident about his outfit securing a historic qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament to be staged in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The Squirrels takes on the Super Eagles in a crunch World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, with a win crucial to securing World Cup qualification for the first time in their history.

Currently, Benin sit top of Group C with 17 points, needing a win to confirm their place for the biggest soccer mundial to be staged in the USA, Canada and Mexico next year.

Meanwhile, a draw could still be sufficient for Benin if South Africa fail to overcome Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium.

Nigeria, on the other hand, will have to secure victory over Benin and await the outcome of the South Africa’s encounter with Rwanda to determine their fate for qualification.

However, Gernot Rohr has voiced strong belief and assurance that his team can claim all three points in their decisive clash against Nigeria, to be held at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

“We are very happy to be here and to be in this position as leaders. Nobody could have believed that when we started the competition.

“But now it’s a fantastic game — a final. And I believe that we have a good chance to go to the World Cup.”

Rohr, the former Super Eagles coach who now leads Benin, acknowledged the importance of the match but highlighted his team’s readiness to face the challenge.

“We can do it, we can beat Nigeria. We’re the only team among the top three whose destiny is in our own hands. It will be a surprise to win in Nigeria, but we’ve done it before when we won in Abidjan, and we’ll try to do it again.”

“We want to control the game if possible and play on the counter because we have quick players and good headers of the ball.”

Should Benin make it through, they would join Cape Verde who booked their ticket on Monday as the second African nation debuting at the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, a failure to qualify would mean Nigeria miss out on back-to-back World Cups, having also been absent in Qatar 2022.