Lions of Chinguetti continue quest for first-ever Afcon win

Mauritania head coach Amir Abdou insists they won't dwell on the Burkina Faso disappointment and will be ready for Angola next up in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations at the Stade de la Paix on Saturday, 20 January.

Kick-off is at 7pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM:

The Lions of Chinguetti performed admirably against the Stallions on 16 January before being cruelly undone by a 96th-minute penalty from Bertrand Traore to suffer a dramatic 1-0 defeat.

It left Abdou's side without a win in their last five matches, although they warmed up for the tournament with a 0-0 against Tunisia, having also played out to the same scoreline with South Sudan in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on 21 November.

The Black Sable Antelopes fought back from an early goal down to hold Algeria to a 1-1 draw in their Group D opener on 15 January, with a penalty from Mabululu on 68 minutes cancelling out Baghdad Bounedjah's 18th-minute goal.

They are now unbeaten in their last six outings which have all ended in draws and a 4-0 loss to Iran on 12 September spoiled what would have been an impressive run of nine games without defeat.

TEAM NEWS:

Aboubakar Kamara is a concern for Mauritania after he was replaced by Souleymane Anne in the 28th minute against Burkina Faso.

Mabululu will be pushing for a recall against the Lions of Chinguetti after he looked lively following his introduction for Bruno Paz in the 41st minute in the draw with Algeria.

WHAT WAS SAID:

Mauritania head coach Amir Abdou

"A bit of injustice to us as the boys gave everything, they followed instructions. Our performance dropped in the second half because of the heat and there was a lot of suffering.

"We are not going to slumber in sorrow. We need to move on from this and prepare ourselves for the next game which is against Angola."

Angola head coach Pedro Goncalves

"This team started slowly but we managed to find some spaces and came back into the game in the second half which the team did better.

"The work isn't done. The team showed that mentally they are up there so we will continue to build on this in our next matches."

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Aboubakary Koita was making just his fourth appearance for Mauritania against the Stallions and was unfortunate not to get his first international goal when Herve Koffi somehow turned the Sint-Truiden winger's swerving free-kick over the crossbar in the first half.

Mabululu's physical presence could be key for Angola. He nipped in ahead of Nabil Bentaleb to draw the foul after the Lille midfielder tried to clear a low cross from the right. The Al Ittihad striker converted the subsequent spot-kick which went in off the underside of the crossbar to register only his second goal for his country.

HEAD-TO-HEAD:

Matches - 3

Mauritania wins - 1

Angola wins - 1

Draws - 1