Broadcast live on beIN SPORTS.

Historic Clash in Dar es Salaam

For the first time in CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) history, Central African Republic and Mauritania will meet. The Group B showdown will take place this Saturday in Dar es Salaam and will be broadcast live on beIN SPORTS.

Central African Republic heads into its second match against West African opposition after falling 4-2 in its opener to Burkina Faso. In that match, Sydney Tchbinda scored the nation’s first-ever CHAN goal to level the score at 1-1, while Ange Zoumara netted the second, assisted by Nelson Ngaro — the first assist by a CAR player at the tournament. The team enjoyed 55.3% possession, with defensive standouts including Churbin Basse, who made seven clearances, and Melky Ndokomandji, who won four tackles.

For their part, Mauritania will face a tournament debutant for the third time, having previously lost to Burundi (3-2 in 2014) and Guinea (1-0 in 2018). The Mauritanian side comes into this match on a three-game winless streak (D1 L2) and has failed to score in its last three CHAN matches.

Mauritania’s Challenge

Mauritania will play its 12th game at the CHAN finals, having faced 11 different opponents so far. Against Central African teams, their record is poor, with defeats to DR Congo (1-0) and Gabon (4-2) back in 2014.

Their lone victory at CHAN came in 2022, a 2-0 group-stage win over Mali. However, recent stats are worrying: in the current edition they have used only 14 players across two games, registering six shots on target but no goals. Their possession numbers also dropped sharply, from 532 completed passes against Madagascar to just 158 against Tanzania.

The matchup against Central African Republic is a must-win. Another loss could mark their third consecutive group-stage campaign without a victory, a scenario they have already endured in 2014 and 2018.