DR Congo vs Benin prediction 23.12.2025 | African Cup of Nations

DR Congo's biggest successes in their football history are two African Cup titles (from 1968 and 1974). In the previous tournament, two years ago, the Leopards ended 4th. Sebastien Desabre's team are excellent lately as they have won the last five matches, including two crucial World Cup playoff ties against Cameroon and Nigeria. In the most recent outing, their only friendly game before the African continental championship, DR Congo won 2-0 against Zambia.

A few days ago, DR Congo's head coach, Sebastien Desabre, talked about the upcoming African Cup of Nations. He said, "We take it step by step. The first is to get out of the group stage. Right now, our only focus is the first match against Benin. After that, it's knockout football. In this kind of tournament, anything can happen: you need to play well, have a bit of luck, and the right circumstances. The level at AFCON keeps rising, making every run even more demanding."

DR Congo have a very interesting team. Sunderland's Noah Sadiki is one of the most talented midfielders in the Premier League, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe are two excellent defenders. The leaders on and off the field for DR Congo will be Chancel Mbemba and Cedric Bakambu.

Benin's biggest success in history was the African Cup of Nations in 2019, when they lost in the quarterfinal against Senegal. They skipped the two following tournaments and are determined to prove their value in Morocco this year. However, Benin seems clearly behind Senegal and DR Congo, and reaching the knockout phase will be seen as a success.

Benin were close to qualifying for the World Cup, but a defeat in the final round against Nigeria sealed their fate. Since then, Benin have had only one friendly match in which Gernot Rohr's team lost 3-0 against Burkina Faso.

Benin are labelled as an underdog for the upcoming African Cup of Nations. The head coach, Gernot Rohr, talked about that recently. He said, "Being an outsider just means you're not yet among the top-ranked nations. I don't mind that at all. The FIFA rankings reflect past results — and we're working to climb higher through consistency. Of course, smaller nations sometimes have to fight harder to get recognition. But that's part of the journey. With our qualification for AFCON and strong World Cup campaign, Benin — now the "Cheetahs," not the "Squirrels" — are earning respect on the African stage."

Benin doesn't have big names in its squad. Their best player is probably Aiyegun Tosin, who scored three goals for Lorient this season. Important players are also Olivier Verdon (Ludogorets), Steve Mounie (Alanyaspor), and Junior Olaitan (Goztepe).