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Benin Coach Ouzerou: ‘Beating Super Falcons will be a tough task’
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Amazons of Benin head coach Abdoulaye Ouzerou has admitted that overcoming Nigeria will be a difficult challenge for his youthful side as both teams prepare to clash in the second leg of the 2026 WAFCON Qualifiers at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, on Tuesday (today).
Benin Republic lost the first leg 2-0 to the reigning African champions last Friday and will need a remarkable turnaround to stand any chance of advancing.
Speaking ahead of the encounter, Ouzerou acknowledged the quality and experience of the Super Falcons but emphasized that his team’s focus remains on development and improvement.
“When the Super Falcons play, their mindset is to win — that’s what champions do,” Ouzerou told reporters. “We know they’ll want to make their fans happy after winning the WAFCON. For us, the target is to keep improving and hopefully qualify for the next WAFCON.”
The Benin coach, whose squad is dominated by young players, accepted that his side is still building toward a competitive level.
“We have a very young team — eight players from the U-17 and six from the U-20 — and we’re coming into the game with a different plan,” he explained. “We can’t compare our players with the Super Falcons. They are an experienced side with a winning mentality, while we are still working on developing and rebuilding our team.”
Reflecting on their first-leg loss, Ouzerou noted that his side had opportunities but lacked composure in front of goal.
“We had about three opportunities to score, but we couldn’t take them, while the Super Falcons had five and scored two,” he said. “The girls are still learning. They are not used to playing in such a charged atmosphere.”
The Super Falcons will aim to finish the job and seal qualification for the next round, while Benin will hope to deliver a spirited performance against the continental giants.
