PREVIEW: Mauritania v Tunisia – A game to watch

by
Kelvin Trudeau Musako
July 2, 2019

Tunisia face debutants Mauritania in their final Group E fixture of the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations at the New Suez Stadium in Egypt.

The North Africans have not really got off their blocks as yet with only two draws and two points and could be eliminated if they lose against Mauritania this evening.

Head to Head

The two teams will be meeting for the first time at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Key Players

Wahbi Khazri rescued a draw against Mali in a highly contested game. Khazri’s freekick deflected off the body of Moussa and wrong footed keeper Djigui Diarra. Tunisia coach Alain Giresse will most likely retain Khazri together with Naim Sliti upfront. Mouez Hassen who had come on to replace Ben Mustapha will be hoping to maintain his spot between the sticks.

Giresse admits he has a hard time picking his number one goalkeeper in the last two games.

“The match is very important and we are obliged to win for qualifying to the next round. I admit that we have a problem concerning goalkeepers and we changed ours in the first match,” He said.

Mauritania coach Martins Corentin has a tough task of mounting attacks against Tunisia. After suffering a heavy defeat in the first game. But he was probably happy that his side didn’t concede any goal against Angola.

“I wanted to focus on defense because we conceded four goals in the first game. We have to be happy with a historic first point. We can qualify even though we have one percent chance,” said Corentin.

Bessam, Adama Ba and Moctar Sidi El Hacen will be the key players to watch in this Mauritania side.

Permutations

All the teams in Group E can qualify. Mauritania can still finish second with a win against Tunisia as long as Angola does not beat Mali.

Tunisia have to win to guarantee a spot in the last 16 while a draw could also be enough to see them sneak into the last 16 as the third best placed team.