Benin national team coach Gernot Rohr's list of players has been made public ahead of the Cheetahs' March fixtures against Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Rohr has opted for a squad composed mostly of players who play their club football abroad with only two domestic-based players (defenders Rachid Moumini and Rodrigue Fassinou) called in. Strikers Steve Mounié and Andreas Hountondji are the candidates to lead the attack and 22-year-old Grenoble Foot winger Junior Olaitan is another key player after producing three goal contributions in the successful 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign.
Hassane Imourane and Doko Dodou are young central midfielders who continue to establish themselves in Rohr's team. Dodou is a regular contributor for Egyptian Premier League club Smouha while Imourane is currently on loan at Swiss Super League club Grasshoppers from Egyptian club Modern Sport.
Experienced campaigner Sessi D'Almeida is another reliable option in the midfield. Goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou appears set to retain his place as the preferred goalkeeper due to a lack of regular playing time for veteran Saturnin Allagbe in his club career. Dandjinou recently completed a move to South African second tier side JDR Stars from Beninese club FC Loto Popo.
After a rough start to his tenure in charge of the Cheetahs, Rohr qualified Benin to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the team is in a decent position in 2026 World Cup qualifying. Benin currently sit in third place in Group C, level on with leaders Rwanda and South Africa on 7 points.
Benin travel to South Africa to face Zimbabwe in Durban on March 20 before hosting South Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast five days later.
2026 World Cup Qualifying: Group C table (4 matches played)
Points | |
Rwanda | 7 |
South Africa | 7 |
Benin | 7 |
Lesotho | 5 |
Nigeria | 3 |
Zimbabwe | 2 |
The winner of the group qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Four of the nine group runners-up qualify for a playoff to determine Africa's representative at the intercontinental qualifying playoff.
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