MATCH STATS: Benin vs Senegal – TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Group D

Benin and Senegal will both be targeting progression to the Round of 16 when they meet in their final Group D match at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025. The encounter will be played at the Grand Stade de Tanger on 30 December, with kick-off scheduled for 20h00 local time (19h00 GMT).

The sides have met once previously at the AFCON finals, at the 2019 tournament, where Senegal edged a tight quarter-final encounter 1-0 courtesy of a 70th-minute strike from Idrissa Gueye.

Overall, the teams have faced each other nine times. Senegal have won seven matches, Benin one, with two draws recorded.

Benin’s only victory over Senegal came in their first-ever meeting on 31 December 1961, a 4-3 win almost 64 years ago.

Senegal are unbeaten in their last eight matches against Benin (W6 D2), and have scored at least once in each of their nine previous encounters with Benin.

The only clean sheets in this fixture have all been recorded by Senegal, achieved in four separate 1-0 victories: two international friendlies in 1982 and 2024, a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier, and their 2019 AFCON quarter-final meeting.

The teams were paired in the first round of qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, played over two legs. The first leg ended 1-1 in Benin, before Senegal secured a 1-0 win in the return fixture on 23 April 2000 to advance 2-1 on aggregate. Senegal would go on to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, making their tournament debut in Korea/Japan.

They were also drawn together in qualifying for the 2023 AFCON. Senegal won the home fixture 3-1, with Sadio Mané scoring a hat-trick, while Junior Olaitan netted Benin’s goal. The return match in Cotonou finished 1-1, with Abdoulaye Seck giving Senegal the lead in the 43rd minute before Rachid Moumini equalised for Benin.

Senegal qualified for the 2023 AFCON alongside Mozambique, while Benin finished third in a group that also included Rwanda.

 

PAST MEETINGS

OVERALL
Benin: P9 W1 D2 L7 GF8 GA16 GD-8
Senegal: P9 W7 D2 L1 GF16 GA8 GD+8

AFCON ONLY
Benin: P1 W0 D0 L1 GF0 GA1 GD-1
Senegal: P1 W1 D0 L0 GF1 GA0 GD+1

 

PAST AFCON MEETINGS

2019 – Quarter-finals, 10 July 2019
Senegal 1 (Gueye 70’) Benin 0

 

Benin – Key Statistics

·       Recorded their first-ever AFCON victory with a win over Botswana in their previous match, after losing their opening game against DR Congo.

·       Had gone through their first 15 AFCON matches without a win in open play (D5 L10).

·       Have avoided defeat in their second group match in their last two AFCON appearances, having drawn with Guinea-Bissau in 2019.

·       Could progress to the knockout stages with a draw and will progress with a win.

·       Progression would see Benin reach the knockout rounds for a second time, after advancing to the quarter-finals in 2019.

·       Avoiding defeat would mark successive AFCON group matches without losing for the first time since 2019, when they drew all three group games.

·       Have lost just one of their last five AFCON group matches, their opening defeat to DR Congo (W1 D3).

·       Have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four group matches, conceding only in their loss to DR Congo.

·       Their record in final group matches reads: P4 W0 D1 L3.

·       Have avoided defeat only once in a final group match, a 0-0 draw with Cameroon in 2019.

·       Lost their first three final group matches, twice to Nigeria in 2004 and 2010 (2-0 and 1-0), and to Egypt 2-0 in 2010.

·       Have never previously scored in a final group match at AFCON.

·       Have conceded five goals across their four previous final group matches, with their only clean sheet coming in the 0-0 draw against Cameroon in 2019.

·       Avoiding defeat would mark only the second time they have gone successive group matches without losing, having drawn all three in 2019.

·       Faced just one shot on target against Botswana, the fewest they have faced in a match since at least 2010.

·       Yohan Roche scored his first goal for Benin against Botswana.

·       The goal was Roche’s second international goal and his first since scoring in a 2-2 friendly draw against Zambia on 8 June 2021.

·       Steve Mounié provided the assist for Roche, his first goal involvement in his fifth AFCON appearance.

·       Mounié has recorded four goal involvements in his last five international matches for Benin, scoring twice and providing two assists.

·       Olivier Verdon recorded 96 touches against Botswana, the most by a Benin player in a single match at AFCON 2025.

·       Verdon attempted 84 passes in that match, completing 80 for a pass accuracy of 95%.

·       Verdon has recorded 194 touches across Benin’s first two matches, the most of any Benin player at the tournament.

·       He has also completed 13 line-breaking passes, the most for Benin.

·       Junior Olaitan won 14 of 19 duels against Botswana, the most by a Benin player, behind only Steve Mounié’s totals against Guinea-Bissau (15) and Cameroon (17) at AFCON 2019.

 

Senegal – Key Statistics

·       Drew their second group match against DR Congo after opening the tournament with a 3-0 win over Botswana.

·       Are now unbeaten in nine AFCON group matches (W6 D3).

·       Their last group-stage defeat at AFCON came against Algeria in 2019.

·       Overall, Senegal are unbeaten in 13 AFCON matches in open play, with their last defeat coming in the 2019 final against Algeria (W8 D5).

·       Have kept eight clean sheets during this 13-match unbeaten run.

·       Across their last 21 AFCON matches, Senegal have conceded just seven goals, each in separate matches.

·       They have not conceded more than one goal in a match since a 2-2 draw with Algeria in their final group match in 2017.

·       That draw with Algeria remains the only time they have conceded more than once in their last 24 AFCON matches.

·       Their record in final group matches reads: P17 W4 D7 L6.

·       Have not lost their final group match at the last four AFCON tournaments (W2 D2).

·       Last lost their final group match in 2015, a 2-0 defeat to Algeria.

·       A draw or victory will see Senegal progress beyond the group stage for the 13th time in 18 AFCON appearances.

·       Progression would mark a fourth consecutive tournament advancing beyond the group stage; their last group-stage elimination came in 2015, part of a run of three successive early exits.

·       Sadio Mané scored Senegal’s equaliser against DR Congo, taking his AFCON tally to 10 goals.

·       Mané has now scored at five AFCON editions: 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025.

·       His 10 AFCON goals have come in nine matches, with Senegal unbeaten in all of those games (W8 D1).

·       The draw with DR Congo marked the first time Mané scored at AFCON in a match that Senegal did not win.

·       DR Congo became the ninth different nation Mané has scored against at AFCON.

·       It was also the first AFCON match in which Mané scored to equalise.

·       Mané contested 11 duels against DR Congo, winning seven, the most by any Senegal player in the match.

·       Senegal recorded 64% possession against DR Congo.

·       Attempted 506 passes in the match, completing 439.

·       Moussa Niakhaté attempted 81 passes, completing 74, the most of any player in the match.

·       Niakhaté also registered the most line-breaking passes in the match.

·       He additionally made 19 final-third entries, more than any other player against DR Congo.