“We have our destiny in our hands”, Gernot Rohr after Rwanda 2-1 Benin

Gernot Rohr reacted to the defeat of the Guépards against Rwanda (1-2) Tuesday in Kigali, during the 4th day of the CAN 2025 qualifiers. And the Benin coach remains optimistic for the qualification of his team.

Benin missed three precious points on Tuesday in the race to qualify for CAN 2025. The Guépards lost to Rwanda (1-2) in Kigali, on the fourth day of the qualifiers. A defeat which, however, did not downgrade Steve Mounié’s squad in group D but they will have to fight hard during the next qualifying days.

In a post-match press conference, coach Gernot Rohr regretted that the victory had gone to the opposing team. But the Franco-German technician is confident regarding the qualification of his team for the final phase in Morocco.

“The lesson of this match is that when you lead 1-0 away, you must not back down too much. We didn’t know how to manage. The positive point is that in the direct confrontation, it is Benin which is in front. We have our destiny in our hands. I think we will finish second in this group. We are convinced that we can do it. (…)“, he confided in comments relayed by Roméo Aklozo.

The 71-year-old coach also returned to the refereeing decisions against the Cheetahs, including a foul on Warren Traoré in the Rwandan penalty area, but not whistled by the referee of the match.

“ My players said he had a penalty on Steve-Waren Traoré. To err is human but that’s a lot of unfavorable refereeing decisions this evening. CAF has a lot of work to do. But I watch the game and I hope my players learn from this match.”he added.

After four days, Benin is second in Group D with 6 points, ahead of Rwanda (3rd, 5 points) and behind the Nigerian leader. Coach Gernot Rohr’s team will face the Super Eagles in Abidjan on the fifth day, before a trip to Libya for the final round. Two crucial matches for which it will be necessary to collect the maximum number of points to obtain the qualifying ticket for the CAN in Morocco.