Mounie fires Benin past Zimbabwe to boost Cheetahs' hopes

Benin claimed a late 1-0 victory over Zimbabwe in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualification (Group C) match played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium (Ivory Coast) on Friday night.

As a result, the Cheetahs moved up to the second spot, five points behind leaders, South Africa, with three games left. Benin will be targeting another victory when they host Lesotho on September 9.

The Warriors, on the other hand, saw their hopes of securing direct qualification to the World Cup fade away as they remain winless and in sixth place. Zimbabwe will be hoping to secure their first win when they host Rwanda on September 9.

The Warriors had a decent start in the opening 15 minutes of the match, but as the first half progressed, it became an even and cautious game with few clear-cut chances being created by the two teams. Therefore, the score was 0-0 at the interval.

Gernot Rohr, the Benin coach, decided to refresh his attack nine minutes into the second half as the Cheetahs looked to break the deadlock. The former Nigeria coach pulled out Andreas Hountondji and introduced Razack Rachidou.

The two teams then pushed for a late goal, and it was the hosts who found the back of the net with 13 minutes left on the clock. Steve Mounie netted his 21st international goal to earn Benin a 1-0 victory over Zimbabwe with Yohan Roche providing the assist.

Benin 1 (Mounie 77')

Zimbabwe 0

Benin: M. Dandjinou, R. Kustosija Aloko (Dossou 72'), S. D'Almeida (Samadou 72'), A. Hountondji (Rachidou 54'), H. Imourane, A. Moumini, S. Mounie, J. Olaitan (Fiogbe 82'), Y. Roche, M. Tijani, O. Verdon.

Zimbabwe: W. Arubi, J. Zemura, M. Garananga, D. Lunga, T. Kadewere (W. Musona 88'), T. Hadebe, K. Musona, M. Nakamba, T. Maswanhise (Machope 83'), E. Jalai (Dzvukamanja 84'), T. Chirewa (Antonio 84').