The head coach of The Gambia National Football Team, Tom Saintfeit, will on Wednesday release his final list of players ahead of their 2021 preliminary qualifying match against Djibouti.
The Scorpions will square-off with the Riverains de la Mer Rouge of Djibouti on Wednesday 9th October in Djibouti City. “We always call the biggest squad to take to the game and there are reasons for that because players are still with their clubs playing, injuries could happen and sometimes cancellations,” Tom told The Gambia Football Federation website. “Some players already informed us that they prefer playing for their clubs, that is shocking news and unfortunate, but we always anticipate that. The final squad list will be announced on Wednesday so that we will be ready for the trip to Djibouti”.
The Belgian tactician dropped two experienced players last week (Ebrima Sohna and Mamadou Futty Danso) from his provisional squad while Lamin Jallow excused himself due to ‘family reasons’.
Reacting to any new kind of approach for the first leg, Tom said the team will provide effective tactics and make best use of the chances provided “because it is an away leg”. He hailed his players as trustworthy and determined to do something for their country. “I believe in the players because they are ready to fight and die. I am convinced that with the players we have, we can achieve our aims to qualify the Gambia to the Afcon and that is our ultimate goal,” he concluded.
The Scorpions are expected to fly out of town over the weekend to Djibouti via Istanbul where a brief convergence for the players across Europe would be arranged shortly before taking off to the horn of Africa.
The return leg in Banjul will be on Sunday 13th October at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.
