Gambia Coach Tom Saintfiet has remarked that his team is keen to win tomorrow’s final qualifying match in Congo despite having already secured qualification to next winter’s tournament in Cameroon.
Assan Ceesay scored the history making goal on Thursday as the Scorpions defeated the Palancas Negras of Angola 1-0 to book its first ever spot to an AFCON final at Bakau’s Independence Stadium. The Gambians, who together with Gabon have both accumulated 10 points from five matches, established an unassailable lead going into the final round of matches.
With the 10 points so far, The Gambia has already bettered its highest points tally of 9, secured in the penultimate round of the joint 2010 AFCON and World Cup qualifiers and scored more goals than any other side in the qualification. And speaking in a pre-match press conference, Saintfiet, who has been coaching the team for the last two years said it is important to win tomorrow’s match for obvious reasons.
“We want to win this game for the moral of the team, to improve our FIFA Rankings, to possibly win the group and to also send a message that The Gambia is a force to be reckoned with,” Saintfiet, whose charges are currently ranked 157 in the World affirmed. He was, however, quick to note that the DR Congo is a strong opposition and thus cannot be underrated.
The Coach disclosed that Ablie Jallow, Sulayman Marreh and Noah Sonko Sundberg are all out of tomorrow’s encounter with the latter two due to card accumulation and injury. This leaves the Coach with 22 players to select from, hinting that some players could make their debut in the encounter. He, however, hastened to add that he will set up a strong team to win the match.
Also speaking at the press conference, Sulayman Marreh, echoed the sentiments of his Coach, noting that they’re in Congo not as tourists but to win the match. He added that a first ever qualification to an AFCON means a lot to Gambian football and to the players who are part of the history making squad.
Marreh prayed that teammates Modou Barrow and Hamza Barry, who missed the encounters due to Covid19 restriction and injury respectively, would be ready to return to the team when the tournament gets underway. He also thanked the various stakeholders for the support offered to the team throughout the campaign.
