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Mauritania national football team facts for kids

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Mauritania
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Al-Murabitun (المرابطون)
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 Aboubakar Kamara
Most caps Ismail Diakhité (64)
Top scorer Bessam (12)
Home stadium Stade Olympique
FIFA code MTN
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 101 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 81 (July 2017)
Lowest 206 (November 2012 – January 2013)
Elo ranking
Current 116 Increase 15 (3 March 2019)
Highest 116 (29 January 2019)
Lowest 182 (bef. 22 November 1993)
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 2 (first in 2019)
Best result Group stage (2019, 2021)
FIFA Arab Cup
Appearances 2 (first in 1985)
Best result Group stage (1985, 2021)

The Mauritania national football team (Arabic: منتخب موريتانيا لكرة القدم), nicknamed Al-Murabitun in the reference to Almoravid dynasty, represents Mauritania in men's international football. It is controlled by the Fération 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 forth 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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

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. 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. 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

The Mauritania national team home kit is all green yellow red trim, and the away kit is all white with green trim.

Results and fixtures

      Win       Draw       Loss

2021

2022

2023

Coaches

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

Players

Current squad

  • The following players were called up for the friendly match.
  • Match dates: 14 December 2022
  • Opposition:  Algeria
  • Caps and goals correct as of: 8 June 2022, after the match against  Gabon.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Namori Diaw (1994-12-30) 30 December 1994 (age 29) 20 0 Mauritania Tevragh-Zeina
1GK Mamoudou M'Bodj (1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 (age 24) 0 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
1GK M'Backé N'Diaye (1994-12-19) 19 December 1994 (age 29) 3 0 Mauritania Nouakchott Kings

2DF Thierno Ba 0 0 Mauritania Tevragh-Zeina
2DF Mohamedhen Beibou (1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 (age 28) 4 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
2DF Balla Bilal (1990-02-17) 17 February 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Mauritania Tevragh-Zeina
2DF El Mokhtar Bilal 0 0 Mauritania AS Douanes
2DF Nouh Mohamed El Abd (2000-12-24) 24 December 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
2DF Mohamed Lemine Hawbott (2002-01-06) 6 January 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Mauritania Nouakchott Kings
2DF Soukrana Mheimid (1999-06-19) 19 June 1999 (age 24) 0 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
2DF Demine Saleck (1994-11-30) 30 November 1994 (age 29) 0 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou

3MF Sidi Bouna Amar (1998-12-31) 31 December 1998 (age 25) 0 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
3MF Bessam (1987-12-05) 5 December 1987 (age 36) 60 12 Mauritania Nouadhibou
3MF Ibréhima Coulibaly (1989-08-30) 30 August 1989 (age 34) 16 0 Free agent
3MF Mohamed El Abd (2001-05-05) 5 May 2001 (age 22) 0 0 Mauritania Nouakchott Kings
3MF Mohamed Khay Lejouade (1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 24) 0 0 Mauritania Tevragh-Zeina
3MF Bodda Mouhsine (1997-07-18) 18 July 1997 (age 26) 17 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
3MF Yacoub Sidi Ethmane (1995-12-10) 10 December 1995 (age 28) 8 1 Free agent
3MF Bekaye Wade (1996-04-13) 13 April 1996 (age 27) 0 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou
3MF Mohamed Dellahi Yali (1997-11-01) 1 November 1997 (age 26) 62 2 Mauritania Nouadhibou

4FW Yacoub Henoune 0 0 Mauritania Tevragh-Zeina
4FW Mamadou Sy 0 0 Mauritania Nouakchott Kings
4FW Hemeya Tanjy (1998-05-01) 1 May 1998 (age 25) 30 4 Mauritania Nouadhibou
4FW Sidi Abdoullah Touda (1990-12-10) 10 December 1990 (age 33) 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al Safa

Recent call-ups

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 Babacar Diop (1995-09-17) 17 September 1995 (age 28) 13 0 Mauritania Nouadhibou v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
GK Babacar Niasse (1996-12-20) 20 December 1996 (age 27) 4 0 Portugal Tondela v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
GK Mohamed El Mokhtar (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Mauritania Douanes v.  Mali, 20 January 2022

DF Aly Abeid (1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 26) 51 2 Romania UTA Arad v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
DF Houssen Abderrahmane (1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 29) 17 0 Belgium Francs Borains v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
DF Hassan Houbeib (1993-10-31) 31 October 1993 (age 30) 9 0 Iraq Al-Zawraa v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
DF Lamine Ba (1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 26) 4 1 Croatia Varaždin v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
DF Ibrahima Keita (2001-11-08) 8 November 2001 (age 22) 4 0 France Bobigny v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
DF Abdoulaye Ousmane (2000-02-22) 22 February 2000 (age 24) 1 0 France Lille v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
DF Souleymane Karamoko (1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 (age 31) 5 0 Free agent v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
DF Harouna Abou Demba (1991-12-31) 31 December 1991 (age 32) 22 0 France Martigues v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
DF Abdoul Ba (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 (age 30) 51 0 Libya Al-Ahli Tripoli v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
DF Diadié Diarra (1993-01-23) 23 January 1993 (age 31) 11 0 France Lyon Duchère v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
DF Abdoulkader Thiam (1998-10-03) 3 October 1998 (age 25) 12 0 France Cholet v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
DF Bakary N'Diaye (1998-11-26) 26 November 1998 (age 25) 38 1 Greece Rodos 2021 Africa Cup of NationsPRE

MF Abdallahi Mahmoud (2000-05-04) 4 May 2000 (age 23) 21 1 Spain Alavés v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
MF Mouhamed Soueid (1991-12-31) 31 December 1991 (age 32) 15 2 Iraq Al-Hudood v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
MF Guessouma Fofana (1992-12-17) 17 December 1992 (age 31) 10 0 Romania CFR Cluj v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
MF El Hadji Ba (1993-03-05) 5 March 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Cyprus Apollon Limassol v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
MF Khassa Camara (1992-10-22) 22 October 1992 (age 31) 44 2 Greece Chania v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
MF Almike N'Diaye (1996-10-26) 26 October 1996 (age 27) 12 1 France Vaulx-en-Velin v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
MF Beyatt Lekweiry (2005-04-11) 11 April 2005 (age 18) 1 0 Mauritania Douanes v.  Mali, 20 January 2022

FW Idrissa Thiam (2000-09-02) 2 September 2000 (age 23) 16 0 Spain Lugo v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
FW Aboubakar Kamara (1995-03-07) 7 March 1995 (age 29) 13 5 Greece Olympiacos v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
FW Oumar Camara (1992-08-19) 19 August 1992 (age 31) 13 0 China Nantong Zhiyun v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
FW Pape Ibnou Ba (1993-01-05) 5 January 1993 (age 31) 9 1 France Pau v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
FW Dawda Camara (2002-11-04) 4 November 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Spain Girona v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
FW El Mami Tetah (2001-11-12) 12 November 2001 (age 22) 0 0 Bulgaria Arda Kardzhali v.  Gabon, 8 June 2022
FW Adama Ba (1993-08-27) 27 August 1993 (age 30) 49 6 Morocco RS Berkane v.  Mali, 20 January 2022
FW Souleymane Doukara (1991-09-29) 29 September 1991 (age 32) 4 0 Greece Levadiakos v.  Mali, 20 January 2022

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.

Records

Players in bold are still active with Mauritania.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Part of  France Part of  France
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962 Did not enter Did not enter
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 3
Spain 1982 Did not enter Did not enter
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994 Withdrew Withdrew
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 2
South Korea Japan 2002 2 0 0 2 1 5
Germany 2006 2 1 0 1 2 4
South Africa 2010 4 0 0 4 2 12
Brazil 2014 Did not enter Did not enter
Russia 2018 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 7 5
Qatar 2022 6 0 2 4 2 11
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/22 22 2 5 15 15 42

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Appearances: 0
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1896 – 1960 Part of  France (FRA)
Japan 1964 Did not enter
Mexico 1968
West Germany 1972
Canada 1976 Did not qualify
Soviet Union 1980 Did not enter
United States 1984 Did not qualify
South Korea 1988 Did not enter
Spain 1992 Did not qualify
United States 1996 Did not enter
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016 Did not qualify
Japan 2020
Total 0/27
  • Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.

Other records

Year Stage Position
Tunisia 7th November Cup 1995 Group stage 3rd
Senegal Jeux de l’Amitié 1963 Group stage 16th
Total 0 title

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Mauritania para niños

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