After losing their opening matches, Benin and Botswana play at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah on Saturday to keep their Africa Cup of Nations hopes alive.

The former lost narrowly to Congo DR and the latter 3-0 to Senegal. Despite entering the Nations Tournament on a losing record, Benin showed signs of life in their Group D curtain-raiser against Congo DR at the Al Barid Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

After the Video Assistant Referee rejected Cedric Bakambu’s early second-half goal for offside, Theo Bongonda’s 16th-minute goal sealed a 1-0 setback for the West Africans.

With eight goals conceded and none scored, Gernot Rohr’s team is on a three-game losing streak, their worst since 2022, and must beat Botswana to escape elimination.

Benin will face the 46th-ranked squad on Saturday, seeking three points before facing Senegal.

Tuesday’s 3-0 setback against Senegal at Stade Ibn-Batouta was Botswana’s fourth straight AFCON group-stage loss.

It broke Morena Ramoreboli’s 40-minute defense when Nicolas Jackson scored before halftime.

The Zebras haven’t kept a clean sheet in seven games, haven’t won in eight, and last beat Somalia 2-0 in March.

After the first round, Botswana is last in Group D. In only their second event in 13 years, they have a challenging route to the knockout stages.

The 2012 Nations Cup’s second group match loss to Guinea was Southern Africa’s worst, 6-1.