Match Schedule

October 26th, 2008 | by: shane | Comments Off

Here is the schedule of matches for the final round of qualifying for Benin:

March 28, 2009 away to Ghana
June 6, 2009 home to Sudan
June 20, 2009 away to Mali
September 5, 2009 home to Mali
October 10, 2009 home to Ghana
November 14, 2009 away to Sudan

I think it is a favorable match schedule for Benin. What is likely the toughest fixture comes first away to Ghana. Grabbing a point or even a win in that match could propel Benin all the way to South Africa. They also get Mali on the road in the first three matches meaning both road games against the two teams seeded ahead of them are out of the way at the midpoint. While I think that is a good thing it will turn into a bad thing should they lose both of the matches because then Benin may be all but out of the mix by the time they welcome Ghana and Mali to Cotonou. For Benin to make it to South Africa they must have at least 4 points after the first three matches but preferably 6. Winning at home against Sudan is a must and I think they need to find a way to topple either Mali or Ghana on the road. I also like that they close away to Sudan. That is a winnable game though Sudan will not be pushovers. But ideally Sudan will already be eliminated from both the World Cup and the Nations Cup and Benin will be in a position where if they win that match then they qualify for the World Cup.

Whatever ends up happening I cannot wait until March to see the how the beginning of the final stage of the journey plays out.