“I honestly can’t wait.”
Benin forward Andreas Hountondji makes no secret about the fact that he is counting down the days until the two most decisive showdowns in the national team’s history: in Rwanda on 10 October and on Nigerian soil four days later. Depending on how the Cheetahsfarein those two encounters, they could be hotfooting their way to a first-ever FIFA World Cup™ appearance.
“To be honest, I don’t know if it’s fully dawned on me yet how close we are to actually qualifying,” said Hountondji.
After coming up through the ranks at Caen, Burnley secured the services of the sought-after attacker last July. He was on the move again 12 months later, departing Turf Moor for a second loan spell, this time with St. Pauli following an earlier temporary stint at Standard Liege. Adapting to life in Germany and finding his feet in the Bundesliga have occupied much of Hountondji’s energy in recent months.
Determined to take his game to the next level, the 23-year-old attacker has made a fine start to what could prove to be a truly memorable season. Indeed, he was on target in each of his first three outings in the German top flight, with his goalscoring exploits helping to propel the historic Hamburg-based club into mid-table.
“Playing in one of the five big European leagues is a new step for me in my young career,” the powerful frontrunner commented. “Along with the Premier League, the Bundesliga is the competition that suits me best in terms of my attributes and how I play the game.”
Hountondji harbours ambitions of using his time in Germany to ready himself to shine brightly in the English top tier, but that is not the only thing he currently has his heart set on. Since Benin head coach Gernot Rohr convinced him to become a part of the national-team set-up in 2023, Hountondji has been fully committed to the cause and is now raring to guide the nation onto the world’s biggest stage.
“I could have joined up with the national team earlier, but representing your country is a huge responsibility,” he explained. “My entourage and I wondered whether I was ready for that sort of pressure at such a young age.”
As the high-stakes matches came thick and fast, Hountondji soon realised that he was more than ready for the considerable responsibility that comes with defending your country’s colours and the challenge of transferring club form onto the national-team stage. Since becoming a mainstay of the Beninese squad, he has reported for every training camp with a spring in his step. Despite having been born and raised in France, he has always had strong ties with his father’s homeland.
Hountondji spoke passionately about what it means to be part of the Beninese camp: “Playing for the national team is a really special adventure and one that’s so rewarding on a human level. This is our country, so it means so much to us.”
Although Benin were not exactly in the finest fettle when Hountondji arrived on the scene, they have since punched their ticket for the upcoming CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, snatching their spot ahead of Rwanda on goal difference. However, more notably, on the back of a superb qualifying campaign, the Beninese find themselves in pole position to bag a berth at the FIFA World Cup 26™ at the expense of the chasing trio in Group C: South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda.
“Our next match, against Rwanda, is going to be pivotal,” declared Hountondji. “If we manage to pick up the three points, we’ll be very handily placed ahead of our final game, against Nigeria.”
While South Africa appeared to have the upper hand in the tussle for top spot, on 29 September, the South African Football Association was sanctioned for having fielded an ineligible player in the national team’s qualifying contest against Lesotho on 21 March, propelling the Cheetahs into the box seat. “I saw the announcement, and I think we’d be mad not to see this as a real opportunity,” said Hountondji. “We have two matches to go, and if we win them both, there’s a good chance we’ll qualify directly. Our destiny is in our own hands, so we have to believe in our chances.”
Having notched his third international goal in last month’s 4-0 win over Lesotho and brimming with confidence in a St. Pauli shirt, the versatile virtuoso is ready to unleash his attacking prowess in the quest to fire the national team he loves being a part of to next year’s showpiece event on North American soil.
“Honestly, I have so much love for this group of boys that just finding ourselves in this position now as the qualifiers are coming to an end is amazing,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing just how pumped and hungry we’ll be. We’ve got the chance to create great excitement and some incredible memories. I think we’re capable of getting the job done – anything is possible.”
Just 180 minutes away from potentially clinching their first-ever World Cup qualification, Benin have no intention of squandering their chance to make the nation’s biggest dream come true. “For any player starting out in the game, lining up at the World Cup is the ultimate dream,” added Hountondji.
“One thing for sure is that when we come together as a squad and start to realise just how close we are to achieving it, it’s really going to put stars in our eyes,” the forward concluded. “I hope that’ll give us the added motivation to get over the line. Benin have never made it before, and it’d be simply amazing.”
Photos : CAF
