AFCON 2027: Benin’s Guepards face resurgent Mauritania in qualifying

Benin will aim to continue their progress of the past 18 months when they meet Mauritania in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.

Kick-off is scheduled for 17:00 GMT.

The Guepards go into the match after drawing 1-1 with Burkina Faso in their previous outing. Benin narrowly missed out on qualification for the FIFA World Cup and reached the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations at the start of this year.

Their recent form has marked a significant improvement, but they face a Mauritania side that began its qualifying campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory over Central African Republic.

Mauritania also made progress over the summer, drawing with Angola before recording a narrow win against Niger.

The result against Central African Republic gives Mauritania an early platform in the qualifying group, while their summer performances suggest they are becoming increasingly competitive.

Benin could therefore face a difficult test, particularly defensively, with the match being played at a neutral venue. However, the Guepards remain slight favourites to claim another positive result.