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Mauritius host Pakistan at the Anjalay Stadium in Belle Vue Harel on Sunday in the opening match of the 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup.
It's a first of its kind friendly international football tournament with Kenya and Djibouti also participating.
Mauritius play for the first time since the 2022 COSAFA Cup in July last year, when the Dodos went out in the group stages after losing all three of their matches.
A 3-0 opening game loss to Eswatini was followed by a 2-1 defeat against Lesotho, before going down 2-0 to Malawi in their final game as the island nation flattered to deceive once more.
However, with the Four Nations Cup being held on home turf, Mauritius will be looking to bounce back.
Pakistan are the lowest ranked side in the tournament at 195, one lower than even fellow competitors Djibouti, and also the only non-African side participating in the Mauritian showpiece.
This will be their first outing since March this year when the Pakistani Falcons were beaten 1-0 by the Maldives in a friendly. Ibrahim Aisam scored the only goal of the game in the 20th minute to sink the visitors.
Head coach Shahzad Anwar has called up a 28-man squad for the subsequent 2023 SAFF Championship, and the same group of players are set to play in the Mauritius tournament first.
This includes nine foreign-based players, four of whom were born in the UK and five in Denmark. These players are Abdul Samad, Yousuff Butt, Adnan Muhammad, Otis Khan, Hassan Bashir, Rahis Nabi, Easah Suliman, Harun Hamid and Abdullah Iqbal.
Mauritius vs Pakistan Head-To-Head
- This will be the first meeting between Mauritius and Pakistan.
- Mauritius and Pakistan are both in the bottom 30 of the world rankings, at 180 and 195 respectively.
- Since the turn of 2020, Pakistan have played only two games and lost both (1-0 vs Nepal and 1-0 vs Maldives).
- Mauritius have lost their last three games (all coming at the 2022 COSAFA Cup).
Mauritius vs Pakistan Prediction
Both are among the weakest sides in the world and their desperate lack of quality in the squad means this is probably going to have little interest for the neutral supporter.
Pakistan are the lowest-ranked side in the tournament and Mauritius, who also have the home advantage, should be able to see them off with narrowest of margins.
Prediction: Mauritius 1-0 Pakistan
Mauritius vs Pakistan Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Mauritius to win
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Under 2.5
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No
