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Mauritania topped Group I with a 3-0 win over Sudan in Agadir on 20 June. However, the Mourabitounes will have to validate their qualification against Gabon in Nouakchott in September, an opponent that Amir Abdou is taking very seriously.
Mauritania were 3rd before facing Sudan. They are now 1st after their success...
Things are wide open in this group. Look at DR Congo, who were without a point after two games and are now 2nd, in a strong position to qualify against Sudan in September. And Gabon, who were 1st before hosting the Leopards (0-2), are now 3rd and need to win in Nouakchott. Even Sudan, last in the group, still have a chance. This is undoubtedly the most open group of all, and personally, I'm really pleased with this victory, achieved at what is always a special time of year...
Is June such a tricky month to manage?
Yes, because some of the players stopped playing early and went on holiday to come back for training. There's also fatigue, players who are worried about their future because they're looking for a club, injuries, suspensions, etc. We did a training camp in Morocco, first in Rabat, then in Agadir, the venue for the match against Sudan. The staff and I made sure we had a varied programme. There was no question of turning this training camp into a military camp. We worked hard, losing a friendly (1-4) to the Moroccan Under-23s, but we gave the players a bit of freedom. The main thing was to be ready for Sudan, and the players lived up to our expectations. 3-0 is an excellent result.
You might add that it was achieved on neutral ground, against a team representing a country in the middle of a civil war...
I'm not going to deny that it was an advantage for us to play Sudan in Agadir rather than in Khartoum, where they are often unstoppable. I'm not in the head of the Sudanese players, who must obviously be disturbed by the situation in their country. Did that affect their performance against us? I don't know, but we did our job by winning and playing a serious match.
Mauritania's next game is against Gabon in September. Can you go into a game of this importance with the ambition of drawing?
No. For me, that's not possible. To say that we're going to close the door and put the key under the mat... No, that's not the way to approach a match. We play to win. And a wait-and-see attitude against an opponent of Gabon's quality, with its attacking assets, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, would not be the right solution...
