The draw has been made for the preliminary stages of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers with The Gambia drawn against Angola. CAF in its new format has picked the 28 lowest ranked teams in the continent to play against each other in the preliminaries with the 14 qualified countries qualifying for the group stages.
The Scorpions will now face the Palancas Negras in the two-legged encounter to be played between 2nd and 10th September in Banjul and in Luanda. Reacting to the draw in an interview with www.gambiaff.org, Tom Saintfiet, The Gambia Coach, described the draw as a tough one. “I must say it is a rough battle. Angola is probably the strongest opponent we could have in the draw with long travels and expensive costs in hotels,” he lamented. “Angola has qualified for the World Cup in 2006 and in the last eight editions of the African Cup of Nations, they have qualified six times and have even played at the last eight stages.”
Saintfiet further justified his sentiments, stating that his opponents have a great support that shows their level of football both domestically and at international level. “This is a nation where footballers earn up to $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars) in the local leagues. Their coaches earn between $15-20,000 salaries at club level,” he further explained.
“However, we are focused, we know we will meet them also in the AFCON if we defeat Djibouti, so it’s not going to be brief. We look forward to it and prepare ourselves, analyze them very well to ensure all players are fit and ready because it’s going to be a tough battle in all competitions with long and rough journeys. I would urge the Federation and stakeholders to be ready and prepare the travels as soon as possible with support from everyone.”
Tom expressed confidence in his players and said despite the tough draw, he has a very good quality side and believe in their potential. “We’ve proven against strong opponents that we can be competitive, so let’s go and do this but with focus, determination and love for country.”