Sellami Abdallah is wary of fellow debutants Namibia

Mauritania coach Sellami Abdallah says fellow TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON newcomers Namibia could be a dark horse in Group B of the competition.

The former Morocco coach will lead the Mourabitounes at their first ever TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON finals when they face Namibia's Brave 5 at the spectacular Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah on Friday, 12 April, 2024 at 20:00 GMT.

Mauritania were one of the first teams to arrive in the Moroccan capital ahead of their historic debut against Ryan Jago's Brave 5.

"Namibia can be the surprise team because we don’t know them so we should be careful in our match," Sellami said.

"We should be compact and efficient in the final third. We both have the same chances in the match."

The Futsal Mourabitounes qualification came on the heels of the senior football team's exciting run at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire.

Mauritania reached the last 16 for the first time which included a memorable victory over Algeria and their Moroccan coach expects the Futsal AFCON to help boost the support in the continent. 

"This edition will be great and it will help the development of Futsal in Africa," he said. "We started our preparations 45 days ago and here we are focused on the competition and to give a good participation for our people.

"Our gold in this tournament is to give a good representation of Mauritania and the second is to go as far as possible in the competition. Mauritanian players have the technique and principles of Futsal,” concluded the coach.