Reactions from national coaches continue to pour in following the draw for the 2026 World Cup made on Thursday July 13 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Placed in Group B alongside Senegal, DR Congo, Togo, South Sudan and Sudan, Mauritania are still confident of playing good matches, even if Les Mourabitounes' national coach Amir Abdou admits that Senegal and DR Congo are the big guns in Group B.
The 2026 World Cup got underway with the draw on Thursday July 13 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. As we await the start of qualifying in November 2023, national coaches are giving their opinions on their future opponents. Such is the case of Mauritania's national coach, Amir Abdou, who takes a lucid look at Pool B, which he shares with Senegal, Congo DR, Togo, South Sudan and Sudan. "There's no such thing as a lenient draw, because all the teams want to win.We've been drawn in hat 3, and we're playing some big nations. After that, we know that the favourites are going to be Senegal, after the DRC.We also know that we've got two games against the two Sudanese teams, with everything that's going on over there.We'll be playing spoilsport with some interesting matches, including a derby against Senegal, which will be rewarding," the Comorian coach tells Mauriweb.
When you find yourself in a group with the reigning African champions, you can't be too picky. After all, it's going to be a perilous mission. Worse still, when it also involves the next-door neighbor. "Senegal is a great footballing nation which regularly takes part in the World Cup finals. They also won the last African Cup of Nations, and they're also our neighbors. It's a very interesting match to play, and we'll have the pleasure of meeting them. I also think that Senegal have a lot of respect for Mauritania, given the way they've developed in recent years. The other teams also have something to say in this group. The aim is to believe in this competition, to dream and to take the games well.We know the group is complicated, but we have to stay positive," notes Amir Abdou.
What about the favourites in Pool B? "If we look on paper, we can say that Senegal and the DRC are big teams.But we'll be up against the two Sudanese nations and Togo. We know that it's difficult to play away from home in Africa, so we have to keep believing. Of course, the favourites are Senegal and the DRC, but it won't be a closed game and we won't be there to hand out points," points out the former Comoros coach.
With 9 groups of 6 teams, only the top teams will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup.The four best runners-up in each group will take part in a play-off to determine which team will qualify for the inter-confederation play-offs.
