Forwards Souleymane Doukara and Pape Ibnou Ba - who could also have played for Senegal - had their Mauritania debut in a friendly 0-0 draw against Burkina Faso, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as both sides prepare for the impending TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021.

Mauritania finished the game with 10 men after defender Abdoul Ba was sent off ten minutes from time.

Doukara and Ibnou Ba were included in the 30-players Mauritania preliminary squad selected by French coach Didier Gomes da Rosa.


Born in Saint-Louis in northern Senegal, Pape Ibnou Ba, top scorer in Senegalese Ligue 1 in 2016, responded favorably to Mauritanian selection for this 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations which will take place in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6.

Ba started his career with Linguère de Saint-Louis. He played for Stade de Mbour, was loaned to Al Ahed in Lebanon before returning to Senegal. After a few months he joined Athletico Marseille Consolat as an amateur with former Senegalese internationals, Mamadou Niang and Souleymane Diawara.

Ibnou Ba then joined Niort before moving last August to Le Havre, both French Ligue 2.

As for the 30-year-old Souleymane Doukara, he was born in France to Senegalese and Mauritanian parents and currently wears the colors of Giresunspur in Turkey.

After declaring his desire to play for Senegal, Doukara who played in Italy, England before joining Turkey, finally said yes to Mourabitounes for the 33rd edition of TotalEnergies AFCON 2021.

Mauritanie Burkina Faso Friendly 2

The Senegal River acts as a border between the two African countries with populations located on both sides.

In the next friendly, Mauritania, which will play in Group E against Gambia, Tunisia and Mali, will face Gabon on January 4, also in Abu Dhabi.