By Ben Mugendi,

Mauritania coach Corentin Martins, 49, has been rewarded for leading the country to the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time with a two-year contract extension.

The former France international has been in charge since 2014 and now has a deal until 2021.

The former France international has been in charge since 2014 and now has a deal until 2021.

The success under Martins also saw Mauritania named as the National Team of the Year at the recent Confederation of African Football awards.

Mauritania, a country in northwest Africa covered almost completely by the Sahara desert, came from behind to beat Botswana 2-1 with two goals from Ismael Diakite, as they book their 2019 AFCON ticket.

The Al-Murabitun under the French man was named as the National Team of the Year at the recent Confederation of African Football awards.

A draw for Mauritania in their final Nations Cup qualifier away to Burkina Faso in March will see them finish top of Group I.

Angola and Botswana are the other two teams in the group.

#FFRIM Le sélectionneur national, Corentin Martins, a signé ce vendredi jusqu’en 2021 son nouveau contrat avec la ministre de la Jeunesse et des Sports, Madame Djindah Mohamed Bal et la FFRIM représentée par son président, M. Ahmed YAHYA @ayahya_ffrim

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23:45 – 11 Jan 2019