It is not unfair to say that Mauritania, with two defeats from three, scraped into the knockouts and now face a team which veritably flew past multiple giants of African football to win their group.

Bubista, speaking at his pre-match press conference, said: “Mauritania is a difficult opponent. This team showed cohesion and quality. “Its victory against Algeria was well deserved.

His team might be favourites to beat Mauritania but Burkina Faso boss Hubert Velud is taking nothing for granted. “We will have to be careful, the slightest mistake will be fatal,” he said.

Mauritania reached the tournament's knockout stages for the first time by defeating two-time winners Algeria 1-0 in their final group game to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.