CHAN: Mauritania will face CAR with calmness and no rush – López Garai

Mauritania national team coach Aritz López Garai has outlined his game plan as they prepare to meet Central African Republic for the first time at the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) with a Group B clash in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.

While Central African Republic are playing their second game against West African opponents, having lost their first game against Burkina Faso 4-2, Mauritania kicked off their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Madagascar before narrowly losing 1-0 against hosts Tanzania.

“This is a very important match. We only have one point from our first two games. We played well against Tanzania, but without achieving a good result. This match will be do-or-die; our opponent lost their first game,” said López Garai as quoted by CAFOnline.com.

“This confrontation can open the door of qualification for us. We need to prepare well. Be physically and mentally ready to seal our fate. Analyzing the groups before the tournament, I said Tanzania is the favorite of Group B. So, we aim for second place and a spot in the knockout stages.

He reiterated that the match against the Central African Republic is a real final for his players: “We want to play with calmness and no rush. The opponent is solid. It will be a final showdown for us.”

Mauritania will come up against a tournament debutant for the third time, having lost both previous games against Burundi (3-2) and Guinea (1-0) in 2014 and 2018 respectively.