Mauritania national football team

Mauritania 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.

Mauritania 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.

Mauritania 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.

Mauritania 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.

The 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]

Mauritania 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.

On 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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mauritania national football team kits.

The Mauritania national team home kit is all green yellow red trim, and the away kit is all white with green trim.

The 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

Mauritania  v  Gabon

9 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Mauritania	2–1	Gabon	Nouakchott, Mauritania
16:00 UTC±0	Tanjy 30' Kamara 42'	Report	Ndong 90+1'	Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

DR Congo  v  Mauritania

15 November 2026 World Cup qualification	DR Congo	2–0	Mauritania	Kinshasa, DR Congo
17:00 UTC+1	Wissa 62' Bongonda 81'	Report		Stadium: Stade des Martyrs Referee: Elmabrouk Muhammad (Libya)

South Sudan  v  Mauritania

21 November 2026 World Cup qualification	South Sudan	0–0	Mauritania	Diamniadio, Senegal
16:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Diamniadio Olympic Stadium Referee: Patrice Milazare (Mauritius)

Tunisia  v  Mauritania

6 January Friendly	Tunisia	0–0	Mauritania	Tunis, Tunisia
19:30 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Stade Hammadi Agrebi Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya)

Burkina Faso  v  Mauritania

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)

Mauritania  v  Angola

20 January 2023 AFCON GS	Mauritania	2–3	Angola	Bouaké, Ivory Coast
	Amar 43' Koita 58'	Report	Dala 30', 50' Gilberto 53'	Stadium: Stade de la Paix Attendance: 36,318 Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt)

Mauritania  v  Algeria

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)

Cape Verde  v  Mauritania

29 January Africa Cup of NationsR16	Cape Verde	1–0	Mauritania	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
20:00	Mendes 88' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium Attendance: 16,088 Referee: Mohamed Adel (Egypt)

Mauritania  v  Mali

22 March Friendly	Mauritania	0–2	Mali	Marrakech, Morocco
19:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Stade de Marrakech

Morocco  v  Mauritania

26 March Friendly	Morocco	0–0	Mauritania	Agadir, Morocco
19:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Adrar Stadium

Mauritania  v  Sudan

6 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Mauritania	0–2	Sudan	Nouakchott, Mauritania
16:00 UTC±0		Report	Teiri 15' Abeid 29' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana)

Mauritania  v  Senegal

9 June 2026 World Cup qualification	Mauritania	0–1	Senegal	Nouakchott, Mauritania
16:00 UTC±0		Report	Diallo 27'	Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)

The 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.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Namori Diaw	(1994-12-30) 30 December 1994 (age 29)	24	0	Tevragh-Zeina
	1GK	Babacar Niasse	(1996-12-20) 20 December 1996 (age 27)	22	0	Guingamp
	1GK	Mamadou Diop	(2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Grenoble
	2DF	Mohamed Dellahi Yali	(1997-11-01) 1 November 1997 (age 26)	73	3	Al-Hudood
	2DF	Aly Abeid (captain)	(1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 26)	65	3	UTA Arad
	2DF	El Hassan Houeibib	(1993-10-31) 31 October 1993 (age 30)	24	1	Al-Zawraa
	2DF	Ibrahima Keita	(2001-11-08) 8 November 2001 (age 22)	22	0	Mazembe
	2DF	Lamine Ba	(1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 26)	14	1	Varaždin
	2DF	Khadim Diaw	(1998-07-07) 7 July 1998 (age 25)	14	0	Al-Hilal
	2DF	Nouh Mohamed El Abd	(2000-12-24) 24 December 2000 (age 23)	14	1	Nouadhibou
	2DF	Houssen Abderrahmane	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 29)	4	0	Marignane Gignac
	3MF	Mouhsine Bodda	(1997-07-18) 18 July 1997 (age 26)	37	1	Nouadhibou
	3MF	Abdallahi Mahmoud	(2000-05-04) 4 May 2000 (age 24)	34	1	Bellinzona
	3MF	Guessouma Fofana	(1992-12-17) 17 December 1992 (age 31)	27	0	Doxa Katokopias
	3MF	Bakari Camara	(1994-01-04) 4 January 1994 (age 30)	7	0	Villefranche
	3MF	Oumar Ngom	(2004-03-09) 9 March 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Pau
	4FW	Hemeya Tanjy	(1998-05-01) 1 May 1998 (age 26)	46	7	Al-Ittihad
	4FW	Mouhamed Soueid	(1991-12-31) 31 December 1991 (age 32)	28	3	Al-Talaba
	4FW	Idrissa Thiam	(2000-09-02) 2 September 2000 (age 23)	28	1	Mesaimeer
	4FW	Aboubakar Kamara	(1995-03-07) 7 March 1995 (age 29)	26	8	Al Jazira
	4FW	Pape Ibnou Ba	(1993-01-05) 5 January 1993 (age 31)	24	2	Concarneau
	4FW	Sidi Bouna Amar	(1998-12-31) 31 December 1998 (age 25)	17	1	Nouadhibou
	4FW	Aboubakary Koita	(1998-09-20) 20 September 1998 (age 25)	9	1	Sint-Truiden
	4FW	Papa Ndiaga Yade	(2000-01-05) 5 January 2000 (age 24)	3	0	Quevilly-Rouen

The following players have been called up for Mauritania in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	M'Backé N'Diaye	(1994-12-19) 19 December 1994 (age 29)	5	0	Nouakchott Kings	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
GK	Babacar Diop	(1995-09-17) 17 September 1995 (age 28)	13	0	Nouadhibou	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
GK	Abderrahmane Sarr	(2005-04-01) 1 April 2005 (age 19)	0	0	ASAC Concorde	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
GK	M'Backé N'Diaye	(1994-12-19) 19 December 1994 (age 29)	3	0	Nouakchott Kings	v.  Gabon, 9 September 2023
DF	Bakary N'Diaye	(1998-11-26) 26 November 1998 (age 25)	43	1	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Abdoulkader Thiam	(1998-10-03) 3 October 1998 (age 25)	12	0	Cholet	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF	Lemrabott El Hacen	(1997-03-24) 24 March 1997 (age 27)	9	0	Nouadhibou	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF	Soukrana Mheimid	(1999-06-19) 19 June 1999 (age 25)	8	0	Nouadhibou	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF	Demine Saleck	(1994-11-30) 30 November 1994 (age 29)	5	0	Nouadhibou	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF	Lassana Diakhaby	(1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 28)	2	0	Versailles	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF	Omaré Gassama	(1995-10-01) 1 October 1995 (age 28)	8	0	Chateauroux	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	El Hadji Ba	(1993-03-05) 5 March 1993 (age 31)	6	0	Apollon Limassol	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Sidi Ahmed El Abd	(2001-05-05) 5 May 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Nouakchott Kings	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Moctar Sidi El Hacen	(1997-12-31) 31 December 1997 (age 26)	54	9	Mesaimeer	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF	Yacoub Sidi Ethmane	(1995-12-10) 10 December 1995 (age 28)	5	1	Al Khoms	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF	Mohamed Lemine	(2002-01-06) 6 January 2002 (age 22)	3	0	Egnatia	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF	Mohamed Saïd	(2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Nouadhibou	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF	Almike N'Diaye	(1996-10-26) 26 October 1996 (age 27)	14	1	Hyères	v.  Gabon, 9 September 2023
FW	Souleymane Anne	(1997-12-05) 5 December 1997 (age 26)	14	1	Deinze	v.  Morocco, 26 March 2024
FW	Souleymane Doukara	(1991-09-29) 29 September 1991 (age 32)	9	0	Mağusa Türk Gücü	2023 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Yassine Cheikh El Welly	(1998-10-10) 10 October 1998 (age 25)	6	0	Union Monastirienne	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW	El Mami Tetah	(2001-11-12) 12 November 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Arda	2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player has retired from international football. SUS Suspended from the national team.

As of 9 June 2024^[17]

Players in bold are still active with Mauritania.

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	19	15	47

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.

African Games

African Games record
Appearances: 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1965	Did not enter
1973	Did not qualify
1978	Did not enter
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003	Withdrew
2007	Did not enter
2011
2015
2019	Did not qualify
2023	To be determined
Total		0/11

• Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the African Games was open to full senior national teams.

WAFU Nations Cup

WAFU Nations Cup record
Appearances: 2
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2010	Did not enter
2011
2013
2017	Round 1	11th	1	0	0	1	1	3
2019	Round 1	9th	2	0	2	0	1	1
2021	To be determined
Total	Round 1	2/5	2	0	2	1	2	4

CEDEAO Cup

CEDEAO Cup record
Appearances: 1
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1977	Unknown
1983	Did not qualify
1985	Did not enter
1987
1990
1991
Total	Group stage	1/3	3	0	0	3	4	8

Arab Games

Arab Games record
Appearances: 4
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1953	Part of France
1957
1961	Did not enter
1965
1976	Group stage	7th	6	0	0	6	2	13
1985		11th	3	0	0	3	2	12
1992	Did not enter
1997	Group stage	8th	3	0	0	3	2	6
1999	Did not enter
2004	No tournament
2007	Did not enter
2011
2023	Group stage	7th	3	0	2	1	4	6
Total	Group stage	4/12	15	0	2	13	10	37

• Prior to the Doha 2011 campaign, the Football at the Arab Games was open to full senior national teams.

Year	Stage	Position
7th November Cup 1995	Group stage	3rd
Jeux de l’Amitié 1963	Group stage	16th
Total	0 titles

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mauritania national football team.

• 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