Minnows Mauritania aim to down ‘big boys’ at Afcon

Mauritania coach Amir Abdou is hoping his side can mix it up with some of the best teams on the continent when they take on Burkina Faso in their opening Group D encounter at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday 16 January.

Kick-off is at 16h00 (CAT)

CURRENT FORM

Burkina Faso go into the tournament on the back of a 2-1 win against Congo DR in a Friendly match that took place on the 10th of January. In four matches prior, the Stallions recorded two wins, one draw and defeat across the board, which included a 2-1 victory against Mauritania in a Friendly tie that was played out at Stade Pere-Jego on the 17th of October 2023.

Mauritania on the other hand are winless in their last four matches in all competitions and jotted down two consecutive goalless draws against South Sudan and Tunisia in their most recent fixtures. Prior to the abovementioned ties, Mauritania recorded defeats to Congo DR and Burkina Fasowith their last victory taking place at Stade El Bachir, where they bagged a 2-1 win over Madagascar in an international friendly.

TEAM NEWS

As a major injury worry for Burkina Faso, national team captain Bertrand Traore is believed to be recovering from a knock he picked up in December 2023, with a return date to action yet to be confirmed by the Burkina Faso football federation. As for Mauritania, Mourabitounes reported no injury issues in their camp ahead of the tournament.

WHAT WAS SAID…

“The Africa Cup of Nations is special for us,” said Burkina Faso star Edmond Tapsoba.

“We are stronger than we have been in previous editions because we have improved a lot in every position.

“There is no small team. Everyone is improving and we have been so it can be said that we are in a difficult group.

“We played against Algeria in the last World Cup qualifiers, and they have good players and a good team just like Angola do.

“The same can be said about Mauritania because we played them two months ago and only managed a draw, so they are a strong team.

“I can say that Morocco, Senegal, and Ivory Coast will have a higher chance of winning the tournament than other participating teams.”

"As an outsider. The favourite is Algeria, 100 times, there's no contest,” said, Mauritania coach Amir Abdou.

“Burkina Faso have always been there in the quarterfinals and semifinals. These are teams that are always present at the competition. We'll be the outsiders along with Angola, so we'll be trying to be the spoilsports.

“We want to have an interesting tournament, and avoid the troubles and phobias we had with Mauritania in the last two editions, where the team didn't win a single match. That's our aim, to go and take on the big boys, tickle them and why not reach the last 16.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Burkina Faso: Bertrand Traore – While Traore is yet to fully recover from injury, the powerful forward remains Burkina Faso’s main man in attack and will no doubt be an asset for his nation in the coming weeks.

Mauritania: Aboubakary Koita – After netting 11 goals in just 20 Jupiler Pro League appearances for Sint-Truiden this season, Koita heads into the Afcon as one of the most in-form players from the African continent.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

In their four matches played in all competitions so far, Burkina Faso have the slight edge over their upcoming opponents with two victories to their name. Mauritania on the other hand, managed to record just the single win over the Stallions with one stalemate played during this period.