Tosin Aiyegun confident Benin have talent to pull AFCON surprise

Benin national team striker Tosin Aiyegun is beaming with confidence as they prepare for their opening match at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The Cheetahs, who will be making a return to the AFCON, are drawn in Group D alongside giants Senegal, DR Congo, and Botswana.

“It’s football, anything can happen. We work hard. We have many young players. We just hope that we can go further at the 2025 AFCON,” he said as quoted by Flashscore.

Gernot Rohr is one of the best coaches

He added: “Gernot Rohr is one of the best coach I have worked with. He tries to give more opportunities to the young players and I’m very happy and I hope we can achieve something all together with him.”

On his decision to represent Benin at the international despite having the opportunity to play for Nigeria, he said: “I have both passports (Nigeria and Benin) so I decided to play for Benin because, I grew up there, so I wanted to play for Benin.

“For Benin, if we qualified to the 2026 World Cup it would be very good. It would have been be history for Benin. It’s part of the game. We keep working. I hope maybe one day Benin will be at the World Cup because this is our dream.”

Benin will kick off their campaign against DR Congo at Al Medina Stadium on Tuesday, December 23.