The Gambia will face their West African neighbours Benin in the opening Group D clash in Cotonou on June 11, with kick-off scheduled for 4pm local time (3pm in The Gambia).
The Scorpions squad predominantly features those that had a successful outing in the recent 2-1 win over Central Africa Republic in a FIFA friendly played in March. Modou Barrow and Mustapha Carayol grabbing the goals to cap off a vibrant team display. Following the victory, the Scorpions rose 13 places in the FIFA rankings and will now look to build on that momentum to make a positive start to the qualifiers. The long campaign ends in November 2018 with the top team in each group and the three best runners-up across all the groups booking a ticket to the 2019 finals to be hosted by AFCON 2017 champions Cameroon. The Gambia is grouped alongside Algeria, Togo as well as opening opponents Benin.
The Gambia is finalizing a training camp in Ghana prior to the match, with plans for the Scorpions to face the Ghana Black Stars in a friendly encounter before departing for Benin.
Scorpions 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Modou JOBE (ASC Linguère, Senegal), Baboucarr GAYE (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany), Alagie NYABALLY (Real de Banjul, The Gambia)
Defenders: Dawda NGUM (FC Rosengård, Sweden), Simon RICHTER (FC Roskilde, Denmark), Pa Modou JAGNE (FC Sion, Switzerland), John BASS (Brikama United, The Gambia), Mamadou DANSO (Kelantan FA, Malaysia), Bubacarr SANNEH (AC Horsens, Denmark), Omar COLLEY (KRC Genk, Belgium), Mass MANGA (Hawks FC, The Gambia)
Midfielders: Sulayman MARREH (Granada CF, Spain), Gregory SAMBOU (Ports Authority FC, The Gambia), Tijan JAITEH (Bnei Yehuda, Israel), Hamza BARRY (Hadjuk Split, Croatia), Alasana MANNEH (FC Barcelona, Spain), Modou BARROW (Swansea City, England), Mustapha CARAYOL (Nottingham Forest, England), Bully Drammeh (Real de Banjul), Sainey SAMBOU (Brikama United, The Gambia)
Forwards: Yusupha NJIE (FUS Rabat, Morocco), Ali SOWE (Vibonese, Italy), Lamin JALLOW (Trapani, Italy), Bubacarr Trawally (Yanbian Fulde, CHINA)