A Renewed Commitment, Scorpions Eye AFCON Return

That feeling of playing and supporting a nation so dear to one's heart with great emotions has been tested by Gambians when the Scorpions made a maiden AFCON appearance in Cameroon. A population of about two million is eager for similar excitement as the Scorpions set to renew their commitment with both eyes fixed on a return to the Africa Cup of Nations.

 

Preparations for the 2023 qualifiers have reached the climax with a venue for the Gambia's first game being identified, the squad being named and a training camp organised for the team. Gambia's squad for the game against South Sudan and Congo is already in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where they are invited for a test game against the UAE. A game that ended 1 - 1 as Musa Barrow scored an equaliser for the visitors in the second half. The Scorpions used it as a preparatory camp before they fly to Senegal to play South Sudan on 4th June and Congo on June 8th in Brazzaville. 

 

This could be a usual campaign for the players, but not the supporters who will have to miss the home games of their team for now. Hopes are high that this could well be another successful qualifier for the Scorpions who promised the nation a return to the AFCON.

 

And Tom certainly had the personnel that can fulfill that promise. Sulayman Marreh as the brilliant creative quarterback, the fulcrum the entire offensive unit revolves around, the excellent all-round game of his central midfield alter-ego Ebou Adams, the subtlety on the ball and superb movements in the hole of Musa Barrow with his powerful drives, the outstanding Yusupha Bobb with his delicate touch and visionary movements, the work ethics of striker Assan Ceesay and the complementary wing threat: the more fluid running and ball skills of Ablie Jallow and the forcefulness of Ebrima Colley coupled with so much quality like the master class displays of the midfield maestro Hamza Barry and the dazzling moves of the unstoppable Steve Trawally, the Scorpions could be up for another history-making campaign.

 

During the 2021 AFCON, Tom and his team were widely tipped to be heading for a Cameroonian fall after poor pretournament preparation – not only did a young and relatively inexperienced squad defy the odds to reach the AFCON Quarterfinals in their maiden appearance, they achieved it with commitment, dash, and ingenuity.  This could be another glittering campaign.

 

The Squad For Sudan & Congo Games:

 

Gambia's coach Tom Saintfiet's style of player selection always allows his critics to load their ammunition and fire at him. The narrative stay as usual after the coach named his squad for the Sudan game. It appears as if the coach is now so accustomed to criticism.

 

The Belgian invited 25 players that excluding some notable names some of who were instrumental during the AFCON in Cameroon. Explaining his reasons, Tom said those players are either injured or demanded to be excused for the first two games.

 

According to Tom in an interview with AfriRadio, Steve Trawallly, Saidy Janko, Ebou Adams, and Noah Sonko Sundberg all requested to be left out, while Ebrima Colley and Ali Sowe are said to be injured and Hamza Barry who was included is said to miss the first two games due to passport issue. The Scorpions further went on to lose two players Modou Secka Barrow and Dembo Darboe to injury, they are replaced with Nuha Marong and Bun Sanneh (the only home-based player).

 

So long as it may be agreed that so much quality is lost by missing those players, it can equally be agreed that there is some much quality on the list to bank on. With the return of Ablie Jallow, added to, Musa Barrow and Assan Ceesay who is in red hot form. Rocky centre-backs in Omar Colley and James Gomez and dynamic midfielders like Sulayman Marreh, Ebrima Darbo, and Yusupha Bobb can all help Tom have it his way against Sudan as the players have a greater understanding of the Belgian pragmatic tactical approaches.

 

The Unusual: 

 

This generation of the Scorpions supporters is faced with something unusual as both FIFA and CAF agreed that The Gambia doesn't have the infrastructure that is fit for purpose, as such they've been banned from hosting international matches. This forced the Gambia Football Federation to negotiate with Senegal for The Gambia to host their home games. That massive crowd might not be seen when the Scorpions play, even though some economically strong supporters will still travel and GFF will be able to generate some little income from the little tickets they will sell.

 

A massive loss for the country morally and economically, but this might not affect the performance of the team as demonstrated in their previous ties outside like against Algeria, DR Congo, and Angola where the Scorpions showed outstanding displays without their supporters.

 

Hopes

 

Most of the Scorpions players have enjoyed some fortune with their clubs and hopes are high that they can carry along the same luck to the Scorpions camp and make their campaign a fortunate one. 

 

The Scorpions are drawn in the same group as Congo, Mali, and South Sudan, which is not a more so difficult group judging by the recent form and achievement of the three teams. Scorpions could be buoyed by the recent underachievement of their opponents and build on that. 

 

South Sudan who were admitted into CAF as recently as 2012, never qualify in their attempts in 2015 and 2021. Congo who last played the AFCON in 2015 where they finished as a quarterfinalist, were hit with misfortune since then and they were unable to qualify for the past three editions.

Mali the most consistent side in the group in terms of appearance since 2008 played in all the editions since then but the far they could go in the past two editions was a Round of 16 finish. This indicates that the Scorpions who finished as quarterfinalists in the last edition in Cameroon have had a more recent success than their opponents. Analytically, their chances of advancing from this group are high.