Absent through injury for the first two matchdays, Musa Barrow (Al Khaleej) and Yankuba Minteh (Brighton) return to coach Jonathan McKinstry’s 25-man squad, and he insists they are “fit and ready to go” ahead of the double clash with Ivory Coast.
Coach Jonathan McKinstry named a 25-man squad on 5 November that includes Musa Barrow and Yankuba Minteh once again. The Al Khaleej forward and the Brighton winger missed Gambia’s first two qualifiers, against Somalia and Ghana, through injury, according to CAF.
Gambia go into the two games with six points from two outings: a 2-1 win over Somalia, then a 4-2 victory away to Ghana. Ivory Coast have the same total, which promises a tight battle for qualification.
McKinstry confident about their condition
The coach detailed the fitness of his two returning players. “Musa has played a few games, scored a few goals and got Man of the Match in at least one, if not two, of his games,” he said, as quoted by CAF. “Both of them are fit and ready to go, though Musa probably has a little more match fitness than Yankuba.”
Jonathan McKinstry also placed the pair’s contribution in the context of the national team’s recent history: “There are two players who, since I arrived, have done fantastically well for the national team. Between the two of them, they’ve probably scored 15 or 16 goals.”
Colley, Adams and returning reinforcements
Captain Omar Colley (Al Fayha) is included, as are Ebou Adams, Mohamed Badamosi, Ebrima Colley and Abdoulie Ceesay, CAF reports. Sheriff Sinyan, Alasana Manneh and Jesper Ceesay also return to the squad.
According to Africa Top Sports, the three goalkeepers selected are Baboucarr Gaye (Shkendija), Sheikh Sibi (Virtus Verona) and Ebrima Jarju (Paide). The same outlet also lists Yaya Bojang (Alverca) and Joseph Ceesay (Empoli) among the 25.
The coach must, however, do without the injured Alieu Fadera and Adama Sidibeh, while James Gomez is not in the final squad. Suleiman Camara (Slovan Bratislava) is included despite a fitness concern, flagged by CAF without further detail.
Bouaké, then Bakau five days later
The schedule is set: Gambia first travel to Bouaké on 12 November, before hosting Ivory Coast on 17 November at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.
For now, McKinstry is calm: “We expect two very challenging games. We go in confident that we know we can go toe to toe with Côte d’Ivoire.”