Mauritania coach Amir Abdou wants to positively change the football fortunes of the country at the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) starting with their clash with Angola on Friday.
The soft-spoken Abdou is keen on writing a new chapter when he guides the Lions of Chinguetti to their third ever appearance at the CHAN - a tournament that has not been kind to them.
In two editions, Mauritania have registered six losses and finished bottom of the groups in 2014 in South Africa and in 2018 in Morocco, but Abdou wants to change this status quo.
One year ago yesterday, Abdou was flying with Comoros as they stunned Ghana 3-2 at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon to qualify for the Round of 16 but now his focus is on helping Mauritania do well at the CHAN in Algeria.
"These results are in the past now. We want to write a new chapter. We are building a new cycle with these players, and we are learning from our mistakes. We know that this game is a very difficult one for us because Angola is a big team. We respect them a lot, but we are ready for the challenge," Abdou explained to the media in the pre-match press conference on Thursday in Oran.
"We have prepared consequently for this tournament, and we saw their first game so we know what to expect from them. We are three teams in the group and the team that loses will go home. We arrived 48 hours ago and have acclimatized to the weather here, so we are ready to go."
Abdou admitted that this tie is a do or die for both teams and that it will come down to the fine margins at the continental competition organized for players that feature in their domestic leagues.
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"We are in a three-team group. It is a risk of death. Our team will not lose. If we lose, we shall go back home. We are in a real competition. We have many young people that have never played at this level before.
"We shall make sure that our fans feel the spirit of football so that we make it to the next level. We shall see if we have learnt from our mistakes in the past."
"We have played here against Algeria in Annaba. It is the same climate. We have played against Cote d'Ivoire in Tunis so the players have been shaped mentally and the team that will win tomorrow will be the ones that are more determined."
"It is to our advantage that we have already watched Angola play so we have knowledge about the two teams even though we know Mali more. Angola have active players in the CAF Champions League.
"It gives us a plus that will allow us to focus on them. We saw them play against South Africa. They have the best strikers in this tournament, and they are very frightening. We need to cope with them."
Mauritania face Angola at 1600hrs at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran on Friday, 20 January in a must-win Group D matchup.
