Kinshasa, December 22nd, 2025 (ACP). – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Benin were scheduled on Tuesday at the El Barid Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, for the first day of Group D of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament, according to the website of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). According to the source consulted by the CPA on Monday, the kick-off for the DRC Leopards’ opening match against the Benin Cheetahs has been set for 12:30 p.m. local time, which is the same time in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC.
DRC-Benin: a match between two countries with different track records
As for the DRC, the Leopards, twice crowned champions in 1968 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and in 1974 in Cairo, Egypt, are in the running for a third title in their 22nd appearance. Facing the Congolese Fauves will be Benin, which has shed its label of ‘squirrels’, known for their physical agility, in favor of ‘cheetahs’, characterized by their feline speed and carnivorous nature.
DRC-Benin: first meeting in an AFCON
According to the CAF website, this match will be the first meeting between the two countries in a final phase.
However, the Congolese and Beninese have already faced each other twice in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
The first, played on 6 September 2021 in Benin, ended in a 1-1 draw, with Dieumerci Mbokani scoring for the DRC in the 12th minute before Jordan Adeoti equalized for Benin in the 33rd minute. The return match, played on 14 November 2021, saw the Congolese win 2-0 at home, with a goal from Mbokani (10th minute) and another from Ben Malango (74th minute).
DRC: second AFCON in Morocco and 81st match
The 35th edition of the AFCON, organised by Morocco, is the DRC’s second participation, after 1988, when the Leopards drew against Morocco (1-1) and Côte d’Ivoire (1-1), before losing 1-0 to Algeria. CAF archives indicate that this match between the DRC and Benin will be the DRC’s 81st in the CAN finals since 1965 in Tunisia, where they were eliminated in the first round after defeats to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The two teams have already met twice in the past, in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The first match, played on 6 September 2021 in Benin, ended in a 1-1 draw. The return match, played on November 14th, 2021, ended in a 2-0 home win for the Congolese. Mbokani (10th) scored again, before Ben Malango (74th) sealed the final score. Since 1957, the DRC has only failed to qualify for the AFCON 13 times. It has participated in six of the last seven finals, missing only the 2021 edition. However, the Congolese have made it through the group stage in their last four appearances, finishing third in 2015, quarter-finalists in 2017, round of 16 in 2019 and fourth in 2023. Their only first-round elimination in the last six editions was in 2013. The DRC has won the AFCON twice (1968 and 1974) and also finished on the podium in 1998 and 2015. Between 1992 and 2006, it qualified for eight consecutive AFCON tournaments, before missing out on those in 2008, 2010 and 2012, then returning in 2013. The Leopards remained unbeaten in their opening matches at three consecutive AFCON tournaments in 2013, 2015 and 2017 (1 win, 2 draws), including a spectacular draw against Ghana in 2013 (2-2 after trailing 2-0). However, they lost their opening match in 2019 against Uganda, before starting the 2023 AFCON with a 1-1 draw against Zambia.
They have won at least one match in each of their last four appearances, having not gone without a win at the AFCON since 2013. In the 2023 edition, all three of their group matches ended in draws. Their only group stage victory in their last six matches was a 4-0 win over Zimbabwe in 2019. In all competitions, the DRC has only won one of its last eight AFCON matches: a 3-1 victory over Guinea in the quarter-finals in 2023. It has not won its opening match in the last two editions (defeat against Uganda in 2019, draw against Zambia in 2023) .
Its last opening match victory dates back to 2017, with a 1-0 win over Morocco. At the 2023 AFCON, five of its seven matches ended in a draw, with one win and one defeat decided on penalties. The DRC has reached the knockout stages in five of its last six appearances, although its last final was in 1974. This will be its second appearance at an AFCON hosted by Morocco, after the 1988 edition. That year, the Leopards drew with Morocco (1-1) and Côte d’Ivoire (1-1) before losing 1-0 to Algeria. Under Sébastien Desabre, the DRC has won five consecutive matches and lost only one of its last eleven matches under his leadership (10 wins). Desabre led the Leopards to the semi-finals of the 2023 AFCON, after guiding Uganda to the round of 16 in 2019.
Benin and its AFCON history
According to the CAF website, this AFCON was Benin’s fifth appearance in the competition. The Cheetahs, formerly known as the ‘Squirrels’, qualified for the first time in 2004, before returning in 2008, 2010 and most recently in 2019. This is the third CAN held in North Africa, after Tunisia in 2004 and Egypt in 2019, for Benin, which has never won a single match in regulation time in the CAN finals, with 14 matches, including 5 draws and 9 defeats. According to the source, after being eliminated in the group stage in 2004, 2008 and 2010, Benin reached the quarter-finals in 2019 and remained unbeaten in the group stage, conceding three draws.
Benin: record in opening matches
Benin’s record in opening matches at the Africa Cup of Nations is four matches, including two draws and two defeats, we have learned, adding that they lost their first matches in 2004, 0-2 against South Africa, and in 2008, 0-1 against Mali, before drawing 2-2 against Mozambique in 2010 and Ghana in 2019. Benin lost its first six CAN matches before achieving its first positive result with a 2-2 draw against Mozambique in 2010. Benin’s rise to prominence
Over the years, Benin has begun to rise to prominence. In 2019, the Cheetahs drew all three of their group matches, eliminated Morocco on penalties in the round of 16 after a 1-1 draw, before losing 1-0 to Senegal in the quarter-finals.
Their best result was third place with Nigeria in 2019, as they did with Gabon in 2012, but they were eliminated in the group stage in 2013. Benin qualified in second place in Group D behind Nigeria, finishing level on points (8) with Rwanda, but qualifying thanks to their head-to-head record. ACP/