Mauritania national football team

Mauritania

Nickname(s)	Al-Murabitun (الْمُرَابِطُون) Lions of Chinguetti
Association	Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Amir Abdou
Captain	Aly Abeid
Most caps	Souleymane Diallo (76)
Top scorer	Bessam (13)
Home stadium	Stade Olympique de Nouakchott
FIFA code	MTN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	105 1 (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest	81 (July 2017)
Lowest	206 (November 2012 – January 2013)
First international
Malagasy Republic 5–1 Mauritania  (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 25 December 1961)
Biggest win
Somalia 2–8 Mauritania  (Beirut, Lebanon; 27 December 2006)
Biggest defeat
Guinea 14–0 Mauritania  (Guinea; 20 May 1972)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	3 (first in 2019)
Best result	Round of 16 (2023)
FIFA Arab Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 1985)
Best result	Group stage (1985, 2021)

The Mauritania national football team (Arabic: منتخب مُورِيتَانْيَا لِكُرَةِ الْقَدَم), nicknamed Al-Murabitun in the reference to Almoravid dynasty, represents Mauritania in men's international football. It is controlled by the Féderation de Football de la République Islamique de Mauritanie, and is a member of the Confederation of African Football. They have not qualified for the FIFA World Cup. However, in the Amílcar Cabral Cup, a regional tournament for West Africa, Mauritania came fourth in 1980 on hosting the competition. The national football team of Mauritania later runners-up in 1995, losing on penalties to Sierra Leone after the final finished 0–0.

On 18 November 2018, Mauritania qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in history, after they won 2–1 against Botswana to seal a spot in the 2019 tournament.

History

1963–80

Mauritania played its first match after independence from France on 11 April 1963, against Congo Kinshasa (also making their debut) and lost 6–0.^[3] 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.^[4] Mali won 3–2 on aggregate having won the first leg 2–0.

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

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.^[5] 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.

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

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.^[6] 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.^[7] Tunisia won 5–1 on aggregate and later qualified for the finals in South Korea and Japan.

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

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.^[8] 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.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

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.^[12] The return leg in Curepipe ended 2–0 in favour of Mauritania. Scorers were Demba Sow and Moulaye Ahmed Bessam.^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15] Equatorial Guinea later qualified for the final tournament as replacement hosts.

2019 Africa Cup of Nations

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.

Team image

Sudan  v  Mauritania

20 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Sudan	0–3	Mauritania	Agadir, Morocco
19:00 UTC+1		Report	El Abd 26' Houbeib 49' Tanjy 55'	Stadium: Adrar Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya)

Mauritania  v  Gabon

9 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Mauritania	2–1	Gabon	Nouakchott, Mauritania
16:00 UTC±0	Tanjy 30' Kamara 42'	Report	Ndong 90+1'	Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

DR Congo  v  Mauritania

15 November 2026 World Cup qualification	DR Congo	2–0	Mauritania	Kinshasa, DR Congo
17:00 UTC+1	Wissa 62' Bongonda 81'	Report		Stadium: Stade des Martyrs Referee: Elmabrouk Muhammad (Libya)

South Sudan  v  Mauritania

21 November 2026 World Cup qualification	South Sudan	0–0	Mauritania	Diamniadio, Senegal
16:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Diamniadio Olympic Stadium Referee: Patrice Milazare (Mauritius)

Tunisia  v  Mauritania

6 January Friendly	Tunisia	0–0	Mauritania	Tunis, Tunisia
19:30 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Stade Hammadi Agrebi Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya)

Burkina Faso  v  Mauritania

16 January 2023 AFCON GS	Burkina Faso	1–0	Mauritania	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
14:00	Traoré 90+6' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Paix Attendance: 27,898 Referee: Jalal Jiyed (Morocco)

Mauritania  v  Angola

20 January 2023 AFCON GS	Mauritania	2–3	Angola	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
	Amar 43' Koita 58'	Report	Dala 30', 50' Gilberto 53'	Stadium: Stade de la Paix Attendance: 36,318 Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt)

Mauritania  v  Algeria

23 January 2023 AFCON GS	Mauritania	1–0	Algeria	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0	Yali 37'	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Paix Attendance: 28,010 Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)

Cape Verde  v  Mauritania

29 January Africa Cup of NationsR16	Cape Verde	1–0	Mauritania	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
20:00	Mendes 88' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium Attendance: 16,088 Referee: Mohamed Adel (Egypt)

Mauritania  v  Mali

22 March Friendly	Mauritania	0–2	Mali	Marrakech, Morocco
19:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Stade de Marrakech

Morocco  v  Mauritania

26 March Friendly	Morocco	0–0	Mauritania	Agadir, Morocco
19:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Adrar Stadium

• Mohamed Harouna (1982–1983)
• Gerhard Schmidt (1985)
• Birama Gaye (2000)
• Noël Tosi (2003–2004)
• Moustapha Sall (2006–2007)
• Birama Gaye (2007)
• Alain Moizan (2008)
• Mohamed Harouna (2008)
• Omar Hassan (2010)
• Moustapha Sall (2010–2012)
• Patrice Neveu (2012–2014)
• Corentin Martins (2014–2021)
• Gérard Buscher (2021)
• Didier Gomes Da Rosa (2021–2022)
• Amir Abdou (2022–present)

Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations record Appearances: 3 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 Round of 16 16th 4 1 0 3 3 5 2025 To be determined 2027 Total Round of 16 3/37 10 1 2 7 4 16

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 Total 0/11 Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the African Games was open to full senior national teams.

African Nations Championship African Nations Championship record Appearances: 3 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 Did not qualify 2022 Quarter-finals 7th 3 1 1 1 1 1 Total Quarter-finals 3/7 9 1 1 7 5 15

WAFU Nations Cup WAFU Nations Cup record Appearances: 2 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 2010 Did not enter 2011 2013 2017 Round 1 11th 1 0 0 1 1 3 2019 Round 1 9th 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

Arab Games Arab Games record Appearances: 4 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1953 Part of France 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 Group stage 7th 3 0 2 1 4 6 Total Group stage 4/12 15 0 2 13 10 37 Prior to the Doha 2011 campaign, the Football at the Arab Games was open to full senior national teams.

GeneralStadiumRecords and statisticsOfficial competitions

Africa Cup of Nations	2019 2021 2023
African Nations Championship	2014 2018 2022
FIFA Arab Cup	1985 2021

Other Cup's tournamentsNotable matchesOther teams