In a group C that is dominated by two giants of African football, Egypt and Nigeria, Benin and Mozambique have nothing to lose.
The Mozambicans after failing to displace Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers, got a consolation in the last group match when they beat Tunisia to guarantee a place in the Nations Cup. The Mozambicans do not score too many goals, just as they concede miserly. Warm up matches at home and in South Africa were not very conclusive, hence the need not to attach too much importance to them, believing however that their Dutch coach Mart Nooij must have used same to correct some mistakes.
The Mozambican team is led by Tico Tico,a veteran of the 1996 Nations Cup, where he scored his country’s only goal against Tunisia and was also in Burkina Faso in 1998 but did not score.
The Beninois on their part are in their third Nations Cup after 2004 and 2008.coincidentally, they have always found themselves in the Nigeria group. In 2004 in Tunisia they lost 1-2 to goals by Garba Lawal and John Utaka, replying through Moussa Latoundji. In 2008, they lost again to the Super Eagles 0-2, this time John Obi Mikel and Yakubu Aiyegbeni were the scorers.
This time around, with Stephane Sessegnon as arrow head the Squirrels will want to go further. since November 2009 when they last won a match in Sudan, Benin has not been engaged in any serious warm up match, preferring instead to train at home under the tutelage of Michel Dussuyer.
Today, not much to choose between these two outsiders, anxious to gather three points before meeting and surprising any of the two favourites