The two most inexperienced sides at the Africa Cup of Nations Mauritania and Gambia take on each other in their opening match in Group F at the Limbe Omnisport on Wednesday evening with kickoff at 19:00.
Mauritania did well to qualify for their second ever AFCON appearance by finishing in the runners up spot in Group E of the qualifiers behind Morocco. They recorded two wins, three draws and one defeat from their six qualifying matches, collecting nine points which saw them beat Burundi and Central Africa Republic to the second spot.
Mauritania’s first appearance in the competition did not bare fruits as the side bowed out in the group stages without a single win and will be hoping for a better result in this year’s edition, although that won’t be an easy ask as they have been drawn with Tunisia and Mali in the same group.
Therefore, they will need to pick up points against the competition’s debutants if they are to stand a slight chance of challenging for the knockout stages.
Indeed Gambia are making their debut in the biggest stage in the African football following an impressive qualifying campaign in the competitive Group D. They finished on top of the group level on 10 points with the second placed Gabon, after positing three wins one draw and two defeats on the board.
They head into the match in a poor form having won just one of their last four matches across all competitions and are coming off back-to-back defeat to Kosovo and New Zealand in international friendlies.
However as they prepare for their first-ever game at the tournament, Tom Saintfiet’s men will set their sights on getting off to a winning start, which will set the tone for their upcoming games against a significantly superior Malian and Tunisian side in their final two group games.
Mauritania vs Gambia head to head
Both sides have met in three encounters with both winning in one encounter while drawing the other fixture. Take a look at their previous results.
- Gambia 0-0 Mauritania 29/03/16
- Mauritania 2-1 Gambia 25/03/16
- Gambia 1-0 Mauritania 27/03/15
Home
- Syria 1-2 Mauritania
- Mauritania 0-1 UAE
- Tunisia 5-1 Mauritania
- Mauritania 1-1 Equatorial Guinea
- Zambia 4-0 Mauritania
Away
- New Zealand 2-0 Gambia
- Kosovo 1-0 Gambia
- Gambia 1-0 Togo
- Congo DR 1-0 Gambia
- Gambia 1-0 Angola
Mauritania team news
Mauritania have called up a 28-man squad for the tournament headlined by former Fulham strike Aboubakar Kamara. They have no injury or suspension concerns.
Gambia team news
Gambia also called a 28-man squad for the competition and have no injury or suspension worries ahead of the tournament.
Prediction and odds
- Draw
- Both sides to score
- Gambia win
