Mauritania national football team

Mauritania played its first match after independence from France on 11 April 1963, against Congo Kinshasa (also making their debut) and lost 6–0.[2] The match was held in Dakar, Senegal as part of the L'Amitié tournament between African sides. It also saw the debuts of Chad, Liberia and Niger. Mauritania lost its three other matches in the tournament: 2–0 to the Ivory Coast, 4–0 to Tunisia and 7–0 to Congo Brazzaville.

Mauritania's first goal and avoidance of defeat came four years after their debut, in 1967 with a 1–1 draw away in Tanzania. This was their first match since the L'Amitié tournament in 1963.

Mauritania entered their first African Games qualification campaign, in an aim to reach the 1973 finals in Nigeria. They were drawn in a group against Mali and Guinea in Guinea. The first game was lost 11–0 to Mali, and on 20 May Mauritania lost 14–0 to Guinea. Mauritania did not qualify.

In May 1976 Mauritania entered qualification for the football at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada. They were drawn against neighbouring Mali in a two-legged qualifier. The first leg was lost 6–0 away on 1 May, and the second leg was lost 1–0 at home on 18 May. Mali did not qualify for the finals.

Mauritania's first entrance into World Cup qualification was an attempt to reach the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. In March 1976 they were one of four countries put into two preliminary matches at the start of the African qualification campaign. Mauritania's preliminary was a two-legged match against the Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and they drew the first match 1–1 away in Ouagadougou on 13 March. This was their first competitive avoidance of defeat, and their first avoidance of defeat since 1967. On 28 March, Mauritania lost their home leg in Nouakchott 2–0 and the Upper Volta advanced 3–1 on aggregate.

On 12 October 1980, seventeen years after their first game, Mauritania won for the first time by beating Mali 2–1 at home in a qualifier for the African Cup of Nations.[3] Mali won 3–2 on aggregate having won the first leg 2–0.

Mauritania entered qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, which was their first entry in twenty years and second overall. Again, they were drawn to face Burkina Faso in a two-legged preliminary. The first leg was played at home in Nouakchott in front of 15,000 people on 31 May 1996, one day before any other matches in the round. The match finished 0–0.[4] The second leg was played at the Stade du 4-Aout in Ouagadougou on 16 June 1996 in front of 13,000 people. Burkina Faso won 2–0 to advance to the final group phase.

Mauritania entered the qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and were placed in a preliminary against Tunisia, who had qualified for the previous tournament. On 7 April 2000 they hosted Tunisia at the Stade Olympique in Nouakchott. A crowd of 10,000 saw Tunisia win 2–1 with second-half goals from Radhi Jaidi and Hassen Gabsi.[5] In the second leg on 22 April 2000, Mauritania were beaten 3–0 at the Stade El Menzah in Tunis. The match was watched by only 3,000, despite a capacity of 45,000 in the ground.[6] Tunisia won 5–1 on aggregate and later qualified for the finals in South Korea and Japan.

Mauritania were drawn with Zimbabwe in the preliminary of the African section of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 12 October 2003 they lost the away leg 3–0 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare in front of 55,000 people.[7] In the home return at the Stade Olympique on 14 November 2003, Mauritania scored twice in the opening ten minutes to win 2–1, their first victory in a World Cup match. However, Zimbabwe advanced 4–2 on aggregate.

The African qualification process was altered for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Only the six lowest-ranked nations played a preliminary, a selection which for the first time did not include Mauritania. Mauritania played in Group 8 of the second qualifying round against Rwanda, Morocco and Ethiopia, and started with an away match at the Stade Regional Nyamirambo in Kigali, Rwanda on 31 May 2008. They lost 3–0 in front of 12,000 people.[8] The first home match was on 7 June at the Stade Nacional in Nouakchott against Morocco. The Moroccans scored two in each half before a late penalty by Dominique da Silva of Mauritania made the game 4–1.

On 13 June 2008 Mauritania hosted Ethiopia at the Stade Nacional and lost 1–0 after an injury-time winner from Saladin Said. On 22 June Mauritania lost 6–1 in the away match versus Ethiopia at the Addis Ababa Stadium. The Ethiopian forwards Fikru Tefera and Andualem Nigussie scored two goals each in a match which also saw Ba Yaoub of Mauritania sent off after 37 minutes, conceding a penalty to Fikru. The game was 1–1 at half time.[9] In September 2008 Ethiopia were expelled from the tournament due to government interferences in their football association and all of their results annulled.

Only 1,000 people saw Mauritania's next game at the Stade Nacional as they were beaten 1–0 by Rwanda on 6 September with a late goal by Bobo Bola. Mauritania finished their group campaign at the Stade Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, Morocco. Like the home game against the Moroccans, Mauritania were 4–0 down but scored the last goal, this time by Dahmed Ould Teguedi. Although the Moroccan stadium had a capacity of 52,000, only 1,472 saw the match.[10]

Mauritania beat Mauritius 1–0 in the first leg of a preliminary round qualifier for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Nouakchott. SC Bastia's midfielder Adama Ba scored the only goal midway through the first half.[11] The return leg in Curepipe ended 2–0 in favour of Mauritania. Scorers were Demba Sow and Moulaye Ahmed Bessam.[12]

In the first round, first leg match, Mauritania beat visitors Equatorial Guinea 1–0 in Nouakchott. The two sides headed into the break scoreless in their match played at Office du Complexe Olympique de Nouakchott. Hosts Mauritania broke the deadlock in the 76th minute through their Tunisian-based striker Ismaël Diakité. In the return match Equatorial Guinea beat Mauritania 3–0 in Malabo.[13] Equatorial Guinea won 3–1 on aggregate. However, on 3 July 2014, the CAF announced that Equatorial Guinea were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Thierry Fidjeu in the tie, and as a result, Mauritania advanced to the second round.[14] Equatorial Guinea later qualified for the final tournament as replacement hosts.

On 18 November 2018, Mauritania qualified to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history, after they won 2–1 against Botswana, coming second in qualification Group I.

The following players have been selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.[15]

Caps and goals are correct as of 20 January 2021, after the match against Mali.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	M'Backé N'Diaye	(1994-12-19) 19 December 1994	3	0	Nouakchott Kings
16	1GK	Mohamed El Mokhtar	(2002-10-10) 10 October 2002	0	0	Douanes
22	1GK	Babacar Diop	(1995-09-17) 17 September 1995	13	0	Police
2	2DF	Souleymane Karamoko	(1992-07-29) 29 July 1992	5	0	Nancy
3	2DF	Aly Abeid	(1997-12-11) 11 December 1997	47	2	Valenciennes
4	2DF	Harouna Abou Demba	(1991-12-31) 31 December 1991	22	0	Grenoble
5	2DF	Abdoul Bâ	(1994-02-08) 8 February 1994	51	0	Al-Ahli Tripoli
13	2DF	Diadié Diarra	(1993-01-23) 23 January 1993	11	0	GOAL FC
15	2DF	Houssen Abderrahmane	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995	16	0	Francs Borains
20	2DF	Abdoulkader Thiam	(1998-10-03) 3 October 1998	12	0	US Orléans
21	2DF	El Hassen Houeibib	(1993-10-31) 31 October 1993	9	0	Al-Zawraa
6	3MF	Khassa Camara	(1992-10-22) 22 October 1992	44	2	Hyderabad
8	3MF	Guessouma Fofana	(1992-12-17) 17 December 1992	8	0	Cluj
12	3MF	Almike N'Diaye	(1996-10-26) 26 October 1996	12	1	Vaulx-en-Velin
14	3MF	Mohamed Dellahi Yali	(1997-11-01) 1 November 1997	58	2	Al-Nasr
17	3MF	Abdallahi Mahmoud	(2000-05-04) 4 May 2000	17	0	NK Istra 1961
18	3MF	Yacoub Sidi Ethmane	(1995-12-10) 10 December 1995	8	1	AS Vita
23	3MF	Mouhamed Soueid	(1991-12-31) 31 December 1991	11	1	Tevragh-Zeina
24	3MF	Ibréhima Coulibaly	(1989-08-30) 30 August 1989	13	0	Le Mans
26	3MF	Bodda Mouhsine	(1994-06-18) 18 June 1994	13	0	FC Nouadhibou
28	3MF	Beyatt Lekweiry	(2005-04-11) 11 April 2005	1	0	Douanes
7	4FW	Idrissa Thiam	(2000-09-02) 2 September 2000	12	0	ASAC Concorde
9	4FW	Hemeya Tanjy	(1998-05-01) 1 May 1998	27	3	Nouadhibou
10	4FW	Adama Ba	(1993-08-27) 27 August 1993	49	6	Lamia
11	4FW	Oumar Camara	(1992-08-19) 19 August 1992	10	0	Beroe
19	4FW	Souleymane Doukara	(1991-09-29) 29 September 1991	3	0	Giresunspor
25	4FW	Pape Ibnou Ba	(1993-01-05) 5 January 1993	5	1	Le Havre
27	4FW	Aboubakar Kamara	(1995-03-07) 7 March 1995	10	2	Aris

The following players have been called up for Mauritania in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Namori Diaw	(1994-12-30) 30 December 1994	20	0	ASC Kédia	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
DF	Bakary N'Diaye	(1998-11-26) 26 November 1998	38	1	Rodos	2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE
DF	Moustapha Diaw	(1996-12-31) 31 December 1996	47	1	Manama	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
DF	Oumar Mangane	(1992-12-31) 31 December 1992	7	0	Nouadhibou	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
DF	Lemrabott El Hacen	(1997-03-24) 24 March 1997	7	0	Nouadhibou	v.  Equatorial Guinea, 16 November 2021
DF	Sid Ahmed Rachid	(1998-12-31) 31 December 1998	5	0	Nouakchott Kings	v.  Equatorial Guinea, 7 September 2021
DF	Mohamedhen Beibou	(1995-12-05) 5 December 1995	1	0	Nouadhibou	v.  Yemen, 22 June 2021
DF	Abdoulaye Ousmane	(2000-02-22) 22 February 2000	1	0	Strasbourg B	v.  Lebanon, 11 June 2021
MF	Mokhtar El Hacen	(1997-12-31) 31 December 1997	50	9	CD Lugo	v.  Lebanon, 11 June 2021
MF	Alassane Diop	(1997-09-22) 22 September 1997	16	0	Al-Orouba	v.  Central African Republic, 30 March 2021
MF	Mohamed M'Bareck	(1995-05-13) 13 May 1995	7	0	Al-Taqadom	v.  Central African Republic, 30 March 2021
FW	Bessam	(1987-12-05) 5 December 1987	59	12	Nouadhibou	2021 FIFA Arab CupRET
FW	Mamadou Niass	(1994-06-04) 4 June 1994	36	5	El Entag El Harby	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
FW	Yassin Cheikh El Welly	(1998-10-10) 10 October 1998	3	0	US Tataouine	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
FW	Ismail Diakhité	(1991-12-13) 13 December 1991	63	9	CS Sfaxien	v.  Tunisia, 10 October 2021
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player has retired from international football. SUS Suspended from the national team.

Olympic Games record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1896 – 1960	Part of  France (FRA)
1964	Did not enter
1968
1972
1976	Did not qualify
1980	Did not enter
1984	Did not qualify
1988	Did not enter
1992	Did not qualify
1996	Did not enter
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016	Did not qualify
2020
Total		0/27

• Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.

Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations record Appearances: 2 Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA 1957 Part of  France 1959 1962 Not affiliated to CAF 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 Did not enter 1978 1980 Did not qualify 1982 1984 Did not enter 1986 Did not qualify 1988 Did not enter 1990 Withdrew 1992 Did not qualify 1994 Withdrew 1996 Did not qualify 1998 2000 Withdrew 2002 Did not qualify 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Withdrew 2013 Did not enter 2015 Did not qualify 2017 2019 Group stage 19th 3 0 2 1 1 4 2021 Group stage 24th 3 0 0 3 0 7 2023 To be determined 2025 Total Group stage 2/33 6 0 2 4 1 11 African Games African Games record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1965 Did not enter 1973 Did not qualify 1978 Did not enter 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 Withdrew 2007 Did not enter 2011 2015 2019 Did not qualify 2023 To be determined All Total 0/11 Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the All-Africa Games was open to full senior national teams.

African Nations Championship African Nations Championship record Appearances: 2 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 2009 Did not qualify 2011 Withdrew 2014 Group Stage 14th 3 0 0 3 4 8 2016 Did not qualify 2018 Group Stage 16th 3 0 0 3 0 6 2020 To be determined 2022 Total Group Stage 2/5 6 0 0 6 4 14

WAFU Nations Cup WAFU Nations Cup record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 2010 Did not enter 2011 2013 2017 Round 1 11 1 0 0 1 1 3 2019 Round 1 9 2 0 2 0 1 1 2021 To be determined Total Round 1 2/5 2 0 2 1 2 4

Amílcar Cabral Cup Amílcar Cabral Cup record Appearances: 16 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1979 Group Stage 7th 3 0 0 3 4 11 1980 Fourth Place 4th 4 1 1 2 4 6 1981 Group Stage 5th 3 1 0 2 2 4 1982 8th 3 1 0 2 3 8 1983 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 0 3 4 4 1984 Group Stage 8th 3 0 0 3 1 9 1985 8th 3 0 0 3 0 6 1986 7th 3 0 0 3 1 5 1987 6th 3 0 1 2 1 3 1988 7th 3 0 2 1 5 6 1989 7th 2 0 0 2 2 5 1991 Did not enter 1993 Group Stage 7th 3 0 1 2 0 5 1995 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 2 0 7 3 1997 Group Stage 6th 3 0 2 1 4 5 2000 7th 3 0 2 1 3 4 2001 6th 2 0 0 2 2 4 2005 Did not enter 2007 Withdrew Total Runners-up 16/19 51 8 11 32 38 88

CEDEAO Cup CEDEAO Cup record Appearances: 1 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1977 Unknown 1983 Did not qualify 1985 Did not enter 1987 1990 1991 Total Group Stage 1/3 3 0 0 3 4 8

FIFA Arab Cup FIFA Arab Cup record Appearances: 2 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1963 Did not enter 1964 1966 1985 Group Stage 5th 2 0 0 2 0 4 1988 Did not qualify 1992 Withdrew 1998 Did not enter 2002 2012 2021 Group Stage 11th 3 1 0 2 3 7 Total Group Stage 2/10 5 1 0 4 3 11

Pan Arab Games Pan Arab Games record Appearances: 3 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1953 Part of  France (FRA) 1957 1961 Did not enter 1965 1976 Group Stage 7th 6 0 0 6 2 13 1985 11th 3 0 0 3 2 12 1992 Did not enter 1997 Group Stage 8th 3 0 0 3 2 6 1999 Did not enter 2004 No tournament 2007 Did not enter 2011 2023 To be determined 2025 Total Group Stage 3/11 12 0 0 12 6 31