By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
Six years after grabbing their first qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, Mauritania’s participation in the 34th edition of the continental race is proving to be remarkable as they stun 2019 holders Algeria to record their maiden AFCON win.
A confident recovery from their successive defeats to Burkina Faso and Angola in their first two group games in the AFCON 2023 group stage, Mauritania defied all odds and defended their team’s badge by taking the lead in the 37th minute through Yali Dellahi’s deflected strike.
However, Mauritania’s feat is credited to their solid team collaboration plus the goalkeeper Babacar Niasse’s bravery to stop dangerous shots from the Algerians that gifted them all three points to finish third in Group-D behind Burkina Faso (4) and Angola (7) grabbing also on the day their first time qualification to the round of 16 joining the likes of Guinea as Best losers.
During the post-match interview, Mauritian’s Head coach Amir Abdouaid winning their first ever AFCON match and sailing through the tournament’s round of 16, makes them feel extraordinary as a team.
He said: “I told my players to believe and give their best in the pitch until the final whistle is blown and I’m excited all our pre-match talk helped us to beat Algeria, one of the continent’s best teams.
“We’ll start from this point to forge ahead on a positive note,” he assured, reminiscing that their victory over Algeria is a difficult one.
“When you are in a position where you don’t know a lot of people, and can still win, then my players must be commended for giving our country such an important win. Now that they’ve etched their names into the football history books of Mauritian and the whole world, we’re not looking back,” the 32-year-old coach further asserts.
On his part, the 2019 AFCON champions coach, Djamel Belmadi said: “We don’t have any small team in this AFCON and you can be punished anytime with a set piece or a penalty, so we are not able to finish our chances and create more.”
He further said the match outcome reflects the development of present day football, stressing that there are a lot of other things which he cannot explain but again, “We’re out of the AFCON for the second time, that's how football could be.”
Largely, the increment of the number of participating teams in the Africa Cup of Nations from 16 to 24 has not only opened fresh sense of competitiveness among nation’s but has greatly helped underrated nations like Mauritania, Cape Verde and Equatorial making the difference in the on-going AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire.
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