With so much still left to be decided in Group I of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Sudan and Mauritania face off at the Al Merreikh Stadium.

The teams are currently separated by just one point heading into Tuesday's encounter, which has all the makings of a keenly-contested affair.

Match preview

Aiming to record consecutive wins for the first time in 2023, Sudan fell to a 2-1 defeat against Kuwait in Thursday's international friendly at the Cairo International Stadium.

Two penalties from Shabaib Al Khaldi in a 10-minute second-half spell left Ezzaki Badou's men with a mountain to climb after which they pulled one back late on.

Consequently, the Secretary Birds have now lost four of their last five matches across all competitions, with a 1-0 victory against Sudan back in March being the only exception.

Sudan also sit third in their AFCON qualifying group, one point behind Congo DR and Gabon in first and second place respectively with a game in hand.

Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the teams, as the two previous meetings have yielded one win apiece.

Mauritania had to make do with a share of the spoils against Congo DR in a 1-1 draw when the sides faced off at Stade Cheikha Ould Boidiya on March 28.

Amir Abdou's men found themselves behind inside 10 minutes thanks to Cedric Bakambu's opener before Mouhamed Soueid restored parity just shy of the hour mark.

Picking up five points from four AFCON qualifiers so far, the Lions of Chinguetti sit bottom of Group I as things stand, although a win in their next outing would see them move top of the group.

Having failed to win any of their most recent four matches on the road, Tuesday's visitors have it all to do in what is set to be a crunch clash away from home.

Team News

Dawda Camara will be pushing for a place in the starting XI for this one having been handed his maiden call-up to the Mauritania squad.

Twenty-two-year-old Idrissa Thiam did not feature last time out due to a one-game suspension, but he is eligible to play a part on Tuesday.

For the second international break in a row, Sharaf Eldin Shiboub makes the cut as the only foreign-based player in Sudan's 24-man squad.

Mohamed Abdelrahman has been directly involved in two of his side's three AFCON qualifying goals, making the forward one to keep an eye on.

Sudan possible starting lineup:
Eshrein; El Tahir, Nemer, Dawoud, Mohamedein; Abdalla, Al-Tash, Shiboub; Abdelrahman, Muzmel, Teiri

Mauritania possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Abeid, Houbeib, Keita, Ba; Yali, Hacen, Mahmoud; Niass, Tanjy, Thiam

We say: Sudan 0-0 Mauritania

We expect both teams to adopt a cautious approach here, giving rise to a nervy and cagey affair. That said, we can see the sides cancelling each other out to settle for a point apiece in the end.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email