The derby between Senegal and Mauritania is looming on the horizon, and Idrissa Gana Gueye has clearly shown his ambitions for this meeting. The Senegalese midfielder does not hide his desire to win this Sunday (4:00 p.m. GMT) in Nouakchott, with his teammates, against their neighbor. An electric derby which is part of the fourth day of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
“It’s an important match for us,” Gana said straight away. “With all the respect we have for Mauritania, if we do the right thing we should normally achieve a good result. They have a good team, it won’t be easy but we are focused and determined. We will do everything we can to achieve victory,” said the former Paris Saint-Germain player.
Senegal, which had to settle for a draw (1-1) against DR Congo on the previous day, knows that a victory is essential to catch up with Sudan, provisional leader of group B with 7 points or two more than Senegal.
“This disappointing result against DR Congo should serve as a lesson to us,” said the midfielder. Certainly, there was frustration following the draw (1-1) conceded a few days ago in Dakar. But according to Gana, “the group is motivated, and the young players are extremely determined to qualify and once again taste a World Cup final phase”, he said this Saturday, at a press conference of ‘pre-match.
