AFCON 2019: Squirrels of Benin upbeat about future

Beninese arrived in Egypt for an honorable journey, and they left with great hope.

It was a beautiful 2019 African Cup of Nations experienced by the Squirrels.

But despite the frustration of not going beyond the quarter-finals, they returned home with a sense of accomplishment.

“It is a great honor to play for Benin and to give pleasure to the people. That’s the most important thing because we don’t just play for ourselves. We also play for the whole country and it’s really great to bring happiness to the people with our tournament’‘, said forward, Cebio Soukou.

Many did not except such level of play from the Beninese national football team. But is this the beginning of a new page for Beninese football?

Moussa Latoundji is Deputy Coach of Benin.

“It is clear that there is hope. As soon as you’ve played a CAN like that and left this CAN like we did, I think you have to dream. And that’s a new pressure for us. So we can no longer afford to make mistakes’‘, Latoundji said.

“I see more difficulties coming. I think this is only the beginning. I hope this is only the beginning. We have a good team, a lot of talented young players. I think it’s not over yet. It’s not over yet’‘, Beninese forward, Soukou added.

An ambitious speech symbolizing Benin’s dream of finally becoming one of the top nations in African football.

But in the meantime, the Squirrels and their fans are fully enjoying this fabulous moment in their history.