2025 AFCON Group D Match Preview: Congo DR vs Benin

Congo DR and Benin get the ball rolling in Group D of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with a clash at the Al Barid Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

With clashes against Senegal and Botswana to follow for both teams, they will be keen to make a winning start and put themselves in the driving seat early on.

After their run to the semi-final in the most recent AFCON tournament before falling at the hands of eventual winners Ivory Coast, Congo DR will head into the upcoming continental showpiece on a high, especially in the wake of recent events.

Sebastien Desabre's men just about managed to finish as one of the best runners-up during the World Cup qualifiers, but have since beaten Cameroon and Nigeria to reach the final of the inter-confederation playoffs.

Les Leopards are just one win shy of what would be only their second-ever appearance at football's biggest event and will set out to finish the job in March 2026.

In the meantime, Congo DR are eyeing a strong showing in Morocco after making light work of Zambia in their final AFCON warm-up fixture to make it five wins on the bounce.

During that run, the Central Africans have conceded just once and could really do with that kind of defensive solidity in a competition historically known for its attritional nature.

Featuring in only a fifth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, Benin have often underwhelmed at this level, with their quarter-final exit in 2019 the first foray into the knockout stages from four previous attempts.

However, the influence of current manager Gernot Rohr could spell a change in fortunes, given the German's record in this competition, where he led the Super Eagles of Nigeria to a bronze medal six years ago.

Ahead of their upcoming AFCON curtain-raiser, Les Guepards have some picking up to do off the back of 4-0 and 3-0 defeats to Nigeria and Burkina Faso respectively in their most recent two outings.

Before that, the West Africans had won three straight matches by a combined score of 6-0, which put them on the brink of World Cup qualification, but that now feels like a long time ago.

With Benin still awaiting a first victory against Congo DR, Tuesday's clash is as good a time as any for Rohr's men to end that drought; they have not lost three matches on the bounce since 2022 and will hope to keep it that way at the end of proceedings in Rabat.

Congo DR possible starting lineup:

Mpasi-Nzau; Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Mbemba, Masuaku; Mukau, Moutoussamy, Sadiki; Elia, Bakambu, Mbuku

 Benin possible starting lineup:

Dandjinou; Kiki, Tijani, Verdon, Ouorou; Imourane, Dodo, Olaitan; Aloko, Mounie, Tosin