Benin have made it to only their third ever African Cup finals. But it is their third qualification in the last four tournaments, missing out in Egypt in 2006 after their first-ever qualification for the 2004 event staged by Tunisia.

Their participation in 2008 was short-lived thanks to being drawn in a ‘Group of certain death’ alongside Nigeria, Mali and Cote D’Ivoire. Much was made of the fact that their only representative from the English club game was Romauld Bacco, at the time plying his trade with…Accrington Stanley.

Bacco is back, this time as a Sligo Rovers player, the League of Ireland’s only representative in Angola (surely??). While the “early” departure to the tournament of promising Plymouth youngster, defender Reda Johnson, has caused as much of a headache for the Pilgrims’ recently-appointed manager Paul Mariner, as any problems for managers such as Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti.

Mariner described Johnson as “having some tremendous attributes…you think you’ve got a multi-million dollar player on your hands.”

And there is no doubt that Benin are not the African minnows they so recently were. They won their first round qualifying group, edging out hosts Angola in the process. And they were three points behind Ghana in the battle to qualify for their first-ever World Cup Finals, beating the Black Stars 1-0 in Cotonou, thanks to a late goal from Mohamed Aoudou.

The Squirrels are managed by Frenchman Michel Dussuyer and the squad has a heavy French club influence, including players such as Metz striker, the Nigerian-born Razak Omotoyossi, who once formed a successful strike partnership – in domestic and UEFA Cup football – at Swedish side Helsingborg, alongside…Henrik Larsson.

Benin v Nigeria could be the story of the first round.