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.
 | |||
| 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 | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 109  (19 December 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) | ||
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
edit1963–80
editMauritania 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
editMauritania 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
editMauritania 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
editMauritania 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
editThe 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
editMauritania 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
editOn 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
edit
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
editThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2024
edit| 6 January Friendly | Tunisia  | 0–0 |  Mauritania | Tunis, Tunisia |
| 19:30 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Stade Hammadi Agrebi Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya) |
| 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) |
| 20 January 2023 AFCON GS | Mauritania | 2–3 |  Angola | Bouaké, Ivory Coast |
| Report | Stadium: Stade de la Paix Attendance: 36,318 Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt) |
| 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) |
| 29 January Africa Cup of NationsR16 | Cape Verde  | 1–0 | Mauritania | Abidjan, Ivory Coast |
| 20:00 | Report | Stadium: Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium Attendance: 16,088 Referee: Mohamed Adel (Egypt) |
| 22 March Friendly | Mauritania | 0–2 |  Mali | Marrakech, Morocco |
| 19:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Stade de Marrakech |
| 26 March Friendly | Morocco  | 0–0 | Mauritania | Agadir, Morocco |
| 19:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Adrar Stadium Referee: Mohamed Moussa (Niger) |
| 6 June 2026 World Cup qualification | Mauritania | 0–2 |  Sudan | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| 16:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana) |
| 9 June 2026 World Cup qualification | Mauritania | 0–1 |  Senegal | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| 16:00 UTC±0 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco) |
| 7 September 2025 AFCON qualification | Mauritania | 1–0 |  Botswana | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| 16:00 UTC±0 |
|
Report | Stadium: Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana) |
| 10 September 2025 AFCON qualification | Cape Verde | 2–0 | Mauritania | Praia, Cape Verde |
| 18:00 UTC−1 | Report | Stadium: Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde Referee: Mutaz Ibrahim (Libya) |
| 11 October 2025 AFCON qualification | Egypt  | 2–0 | Mauritania | Cairo, Egypt |
| 19:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Cairo International Stadium Referee: Alhadi Allaou (Chad) |
| 15 October 2025 AFCON qualification | Mauritania | 0–1 | Egypt | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| 19:00 UTC±0 | Report |
|
Stadium: Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium Referee: Imtehaz Heeralall (Mauritius) |
| 15 November 2025 AFCON qualification | Botswana | 1–1 | Mauritania | Francistown, Botswana |
| 14:00 UTC+2 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Obed Itani Chilume Stadium Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia) |
| 19 November 2025 AFCON qualification | Mauritania | 1–0 | Cape Verde | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| 15:00 UTC±0 |
|
Report | Stadium: Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium Referee: Lahlou Benbraham (Algeria) |
Coaches
edit
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)
Players
editCurrent squad
editThe following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Sudan and Senegal on 6 and 9 June 2024.[16]
Caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2024, after the match against Senegal.
Recent call-ups
editThe following players have been called up for Mauritania in the last 12 months.
Records
edit- As of 15 November 2024[17]
- Players in bold are still active with Mauritania.
Most appearances
edit| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Souleymane Diallo | 76 | 0 | 2006–2019 |
| 2 | Mohamed Dellahi Yali | 75 | 3 | 2015–present |
| 3 | Ismaël Diakité | 68 | 9 | 2008–2022 |
| 4 | Aly Abeid | 67 | 3 | 2015–present |
| 5 | Bessam | 66 | 13 | 2013–2023 |
| 6 | Abdoulaye Gaye | 58 | 2 | 2012–2020 |
| 7 | Hacen El Ide | 54 | 9 | 2013–present |
| 8 | Abdoul Ba | 52 | 0 | 2013–2022 |
| 9 | Moustapha Diaw | 50 | 1 | 2015–2021 |
| 10 | Adama Ba | 48 | 6 | 2013–2022 |
| Hemeya Tanjy | 48 | 7 | 2018–present |
Top goalscorers
edit| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bessam | 13 | 66 | 0.2 | 2013–2023 |
| 2 | Hacen El Ide | 9 | 54 | 0.17 | 2013–present |
| Ismaël Diakité | 9 | 68 | 0.13 | 2008–2022 | |
| 4 | Aboubakar Kamara | 8 | 28 | 0.29 | 2021–present |
| 5 | Hemeya Tanjy | 7 | 48 | 0.15 | 2018–present |
| 6 | Boubacar Bagili | 6 | 35 | 0.17 | 2015–2019 |
| Adama Ba | 6 | 48 | 0.13 | 2013–2022 | |
| 8 | Ahmed Sidibé | 5 | 19 | 0.26 | 1994–2008 |
| Brahim Ould Malha | 5 | 23 | 0.22 | 1994–2002 | |
| Mamadou Niass | 5 | 45 | 0.11 | 2013–present |
Competitive record
editFIFA World Cup
edit| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1930 to 1958 | Part of France | Part of France | |||||||||||||
| 1962 to 1970 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||
 1974
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 1978 |
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
 1982
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 1986
| |||||||||||||||
 1990
| |||||||||||||||
 1994
|
Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||
 1998 |
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
  2002
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
| 2006
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
 2010
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 12 | |||||||||
 2014 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 2018 |
Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | ||||||||
 2022
|
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | |||||||||
 2026
|
To be determined | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||
 2030
|
To be determined | ||||||||||||||
 2034
| |||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/13 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 15 | 47 | ||||||||
Olympic Games
edit| Olympic Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearances: 0 | ||||||||
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1896 – 1960 | Part of France | |||||||
 1964 |
Did not enter | |||||||
| 1968
| ||||||||
| 1972
| ||||||||
| 1976 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
 1980 |
Did not enter | |||||||
| 1984 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
 1988 |
Did not enter | |||||||
| 1992 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1996 |
Did not enter | |||||||
 2000
| ||||||||
 2004
| ||||||||
 2008
| ||||||||
 2012
| ||||||||
| 2016 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2020
| ||||||||
 2024
| ||||||||
| Total | 0/28 | |||||||
- Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.
Africa Cup of Nationsedit
African Gamesedit
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African Nations Championshipedit
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WAFU Nations Cupedit
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Amílcar Cabral Cupedit
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CEDEAO Cupedit
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FIFA Arab Cupedit
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Arab Gamesedit
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Other records
edit| Year | Stage | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 7th November Cup 1995 |
Group stage | 3rd |
| Jeux de l’Amitié 1963 |
Group stage | 16th |
| Total | 0 titles |
Honours
editRegional
edit- Amílcar Cabral Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1995
References
edit- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "DR Congo (Zaire, Congo-Kinshasa) – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ "Mauritania – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ "CAF – 1998 FIFA WORLD CUP PRELIMINARIES". Allworldcup.narod.ru. 31 May 1996. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa". FIFA.com. FIFA. 11 October 2008. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "Mauritania beat Mauritius in first leg of 2015 qualifier". bbc.com. BBC. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Mauritania pass Mauritius' test". starafrica.com. Star Africa. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea eject Mauritania". africanfootball.com. African Football. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea disqualified from Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015". cafonline.com. Confédération Africaine de Football. 3 July 2014.
- ^ "La liste" (in French). Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. May 2024 – via Facebook.
- ^ "Mauritania". National Football Teams.
External links
edit - Mauritania at CAF
- Mauritania at FIFA
- Mauritania at National-Football-Teams.com
- Fédération de Football de Mauritanie
- Mauritanie Football[permanent dead link]
- National football team of Mauritania team picture
