The Gambia senior football team are in full swing preparation to pick points against the Island of Comoros and Tunisia.

The Scorpions who are drawn in Group A alongside Comoros, Tunisia, and Madagascar will begin their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on September 4 against The Coelacanths of Comoros at the El Abdi Stadium in Morocco.

Speaking to reporters at the Gambia Football Federation yesterday, Scorpions coach Jonathan McKinstry, 38, said despite the challenges of the opposing teams, he has high hopes of the Scorpions triumphing over them.

“Comoros is a very difficult opponent. They are a very hard working team and Tunisia always qualify. But as Gambia, we have got a pretty good record against north African opponents. So, we are going to the game confident. We will respect our opponents but we are going to be confident that we can play to our level to take points,” he told reporters.

Unlike his predecessor, the Irish tactician also made few changes he defended, citing that international football is a tense competition in which players must fight enough to retain their position in the national team.

The coach announced his 24-man squad for the AFCON campaign and some prominent players were dropped. 

Some of the left out players are known to be nursing injury while others are excluded for not being fully fit or not having enough playing minutes at their clubs.

“In terms of the squad itself, we think it’s a competitive group. There are going to be some players who are going to be very disappointed to miss out. But like I said to the coaching staff, football is about competition. If you compete for your place, you are going to be playing well week-in, week-out.

“We are missing some players who represented us in June. That’s going to be disappointing because they did really well in June, but ultimately they got injured or maybe they are not getting minutes in their club side. And international football isn’t about being nice all the time, but it’s about guys who are playing well and ready to come and play for their country because that’s the expectation,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba