Following the arrival of the Scorpions in Libreville on Tuesday morning ahead of the Afcon Qualifier to the Panthers of Gabon, Coach Tom Saintfiet and his charges have had their first training and recovery session at a local Stadium in Libreville on Tuesday afternoon.
Saintfiet said the objective of the recovery session is meant to bring players back to their fitness and minds, loosen muscles and get them focused on the game after a long trip. “It is a good physical preparation, some concentration in the game, and adapting to the humid environment knowing that we have a lot of Players coming from Europe where it is even colder.“. He expressed satisfaction over the session and hoped that all the players would be recovered back to normalcy before the match day. “I am satisfied with what I see and the players look very happy and ready for the match”.
Despite the absence of some notable players, Saintfiet is confident of the squad at hand noting that the last two and half years for the Scorpions have been built around with confidence winning over heavyweights like Benin, Angola, Congo, Morocco and drew twice with Algeria. “That’s the confidence the players deserved to have because we’ve achieved good result always with different teams and different players”.
He however noted that “over confidence is risky because we know that Gabon is a very strong opponent with world stars and on the other side, we missed some important players but we still have a lot of quality players who are very eager to play”.
He emphasized quality and fighting spirits as important aspects in football which according to him is a hallmark for the Scorpions. “We sometimes underestimate the role of motivation, happiness, the desire to fight and play for the country. If you want to get good results, it will be a team performance with a great fighting spirit that can guide us to good results”.
Reacting to his game plan and objective for the Thursday showdown, the Belgian tactician beamed, “we know that we have a strong opponent, so we will see after the game if the victory or a draw will be satisfactory but our ambition is to get the 3 points in every game and we are here to defend our leading position”.
The team will fly out to the match destination in Franceville on Wednesday afternoon where a final training session would be held at 8pm local time.
The Gambia plays Gabon on Thursday 12th November 2020 at Stade Franceville in Match Day Three of the Afcon Qualifiers with the return leg in Banjul slated for Monday 16th November, 2020 at the Independence Stadium in Bakau at 4:30pm.