2023 AFCON: Mauritania v Angola preview

The second match on day eight of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations sees Mauritania and Angola lock horns in Group D at the Stade de la Paix.

Date: Saturday, 20 January 2024

Kick-off: 19h00 CAT

Head-to-head: This will be the second meeting between the two teams at AFCON after they were also drawn together in the group stages for the 2019 edition and played out to a 0-0 draw. Their only previous two encounters came during the same qualifying campaign as Black Sable Antelopes won 4-1 in Luanda before the Lions of Chinguetti ran out 1-0 victors in Nouakchott.

Mauritania’s last three results: Amir Abdou’s side saw a two-game unbeaten run come to an end when they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Burkina Faso first up in the tournament, having shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw with South Sudan in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on November 21 before holding Tunisia to a goalless stalemate in a warm-up match on January 6.

Angola’s last three results: The Southern Africans have drawn their last three games; their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Mauritius on November 21 finished goalless and the scoreline was the same in their warm-up match with Congo DR on January 6. Pedro Goncalves’ side then held Algeria to a 1-1 draw in their Group D opener on January 15.

Team news: Aboubakar Kamara is rated doubtful for Mauritania after he lasted just 28 minutes in their opening match against the Stallions before being replaced by Souleymane Anne. Angola came through their clash with the Fennec Foxes unscathed and will be at full strength this weekend.

Key player – Mauritania: Hemeya Tanjy is the third most-capped player in the current squad and one of their main threats in attack. The Al-Ittihad winger scored two goals during the qualifiers and his best chance against Burkina Faso came in the first half when he volleyed straight at the goalkeeper from the edge of the box in the first half.

Key player – Angola: Mabululu didn’t start against Algeria, but he was introduced for Bruno Paz in the 41st minute and went on to make quite the impact after drawing a foul from Nabil Bentaleb to win and convert a penalty in the 68th minute.