By Emmanuel Huesu BBC Sport Online

Benin Republic's top striker Moussa Latoundji fancies his country's chance of qualifying for the finals of the 2004 African Nations Cup.

The tiny West African country, which shares borders with Nations Cup regulars Nigeria, Togo and Burkina Faso, has never made it to the continent's biggest soccer showcase.

But the 24-year-old Latoundji, who plays in Germany for Cottbus and will play a key role in the qualifiers, believes Benin's time has come.

"We are determined to qualify for the Nations Cup after watching Senegal's performance at the World Cup.

"They inspired us and we now believe we can do the same thing at the African Nations Cup level."

Latoundji, who played for Julius Berger in Nigeria and Metz in France, is upbeat about the challenges Benin face in the race for Tunisia.

"Zambia could be our toughest opponent in the group but we can handle them.

"Our morale is very high and we have a lot of experienced players doing well in Europe."

The Squirrels, as the national team is known, ended a recent 10-day tour of Belgium with a 3-1 victory over Anderlecht.

"It was a great success and we hope to do better on Sunday against Tanzania in Cotonou," Latounji said.