Senegal midfielder Henri Saivet believes Benin will be difficult to play when they meet in the quarter-final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.
The Squirrels qualified for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams after forcing West African giants Ghana to a 2-2 draw, playing a goalless stalemate with Guinea-Bissau and reigning champions Cameroon.
Benin then ousted Morocco in the Round of 16, defeating the North Africans in a penalty shoot-out after the regular time ended 1-1 to reach the last eight of the competition for the first time in their history.
Senegal secured their place in the quarter-final after edging past Uganda 1-0 at the Cairo International Stadium on Wednesday.
Saviet, who has been a near-constant in Aliou Cisse’s team, featuring in all but one of their last four games, has warned his side of the danger Benin can pose against the Teranga Lions.
“No match is going to be easy. All the qualified teams will up their game,” Saivet told Goal.
“So I don't expect any easy game. We have qualified and we are happy.
“The game against Benin will be difficult. We will have a review of the game against Uganda and then watch Benin videos.”
Recalling their victory over Uganda, Saviet admitted his side were fully focused on the game and the outcome between Morocco and Benin did not impact their performance against the East Africans.
“We did not even hear the outcome of the match between Morocco and Benin,” he continued.
“It was after our game we heard what happened, so it did not influence our game. We were fully concentrated.”
Senegal were eliminated in the quarter-final of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and will hope to avoid a repeat on Wednesday.
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