Benin’s women’s national team secured a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone in the first leg of their 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, but head coach Abdoulaye Ouzérou believes his side could have done more to put the tie beyond doubt.
Following the match on February 20, Ouzérou acknowledged the positive result but expressed frustration over missed opportunities that could have extended Benin’s advantage ahead of the return leg in Monrovia on February 24.
I have several feelings tonight. The first is that we win, but the second is a bit of disappointment because we could have killed the match by scoring one or two more goals,” he said.
Improving finishing to secure qualification
While pleased with his team’s ability to create chances, Ouzérou stressed the need for better finishing.
Now we will draw conclusions from this first leg and correct the efficiency side where I think we can do even better.
We had the chances, so we had no difficulty in getting chances.
We lacked a bit of luck. But next time it will be better, he added.
The coach also pointed out that many of his players are still gaining experience at the senior level, having recently progressed from youth teams.
However, he remains optimistic about their development. “There are a lot of young girls who have left the lower categories, they lack a bit of experience, but the future is promising,” he stated.
Confident ahead of the return leg in Monrovia
With a narrow lead heading into the second leg, Ouzérou dismissed concerns about playing on a synthetic pitch in Monrovia.
In terms of synthetic, it does not pose a problem for us. We Benin, if we are not world champions, we are at least vice-world champions.
We have more than twenty very nice synthetic stadiums. So we will play hard whatever the pitch,” he asserted.
Reflecting on past encounters with Sierra Leone, Ouzérou recalled the 2021 AFCON men’s qualifiers, where Benin suffered a painful elimination.
However, he also pointed to previous victories, including qualification for the 2008 AFCON, where he played for the national team.
The return matches against Sierra Leone, we remember four years ago the realities or almost tense traps that cost us the AFCON 2021.
However, I want to be positive and tell you that this same country of Sierra Leone, we beat them in the qualifiers for the AFCON 2008, and I was a player of the Écureuils at the time,” he said.
Ending on a determined note, Ouzérou made his stance clear: “So I tell you, we will pass.
