Mauritania and Sudan face off at Stade de la Capitale on Thursday in the third match of their 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The hosts are still in search of their first win in this qualifying series but the visitors will hope they maintain the pace from their opening two matches.
Match preview
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Mauritania began the World Cup qualifiers with a 2-0 defeat at DR Congo before settling for a goalless draw away at South Sudan.
The Lions of Chinguetti have one point so far and are second from bottom, level with bottom-placed South Sudan. However, they will be hoping to improve their standing when they play their first home game on Thursday against Sudan.
Since their last World Cup qualifying matches, Amir Abdou's side have played seven matches, with four of those coming in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where they reached the round of 16.
In those matches, Mauritania lost four times, drew twice and won just once, which has shown little sign that they have improved. However, they will be facing opponents they defeated on their way to the last AFCON.
Both sides have met three times in the past, with the hosts winning twice during the qualifying series for the 2023 AFCON after losing the first ever meeting between them.
Sudan have started this World Cup qualifying series like a team that means business, gaining a 1-1 draw against Togo before a 1-0 win over DR Congo.
With four points from two matches, the Secretarybirds are second in Group B, level with group leaders Senegal.
James Kwesi Appiah went on a five-match unbeaten run between October and May after taking up the job, picking up three wins and two draws. However, this run ended in their last outing against Tanzania.
The prospect of finishing top of the table for an automatic ticket to the World Cup might be slim with Senegal in their group, but the visitors will look to take each match as it comes with securing three points their main objective on Thursday.
Team News
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After missing the friendlies in March, Aboubakary Koita is back in the squad and should return to bolster an attack that has failed to find the net in their last two matches.
Guessouma Fofana, Oumar Ngom and Bodda Mouhsine are three players expected to offer balance to the team from the midfield.
Twenty-nine-year old forward Mohamed Eisa scored on his debut against Togo and should be part of the attack once again for Sudan on Thursday.
Ramadan Agab's experience should come in handy as he is expected to also be part of the attack in some capacity after going off injured against Togo.
Mauritania possible starting lineup:
Niasse; Yali, Ba, Abeid, Keita; Fofana, Ngom, Mouhsine; Ba, Koita, Thiam
Sudan possible starting lineup:
Mustafa; Khamis, Saeed, Karshoum, Zayed; Hamed, Abuaagla, Adil, Mahmoud; Eisa, Thierry
We say: Mauritania 1-1 Sudan
Following their impressive start to the World Cup qualifying series, Sudan will be looking to pick up another important point in Mauritania. Despite the home side's better record in this fixture, the visitors are heading into this with better form.
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