Gambia national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname

Gambia national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname

Sospeter Itolondo
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:54 PM

Learn more about the Gambia national football team's current squad, current coach, current world rankings, AFCON run, and nickname. The team has not been that succesful in competitions in the past, with their first appearance in AFCON in 2022. Will they be more successful in this edition?

Gambia national football team
Photo: canva.com (modified by author)
Source: UGC

They were formally known as British Gambia until 1965. They have never qualified for a world cup. However, they qualified for the 2022 AFCON. Their campaign is good, with a win against Mauritania and a draw against Mali. Their team players play in different leagues all over the world.

Profile Summary

  • Full name: Gambia National Football Team
  • Nickname: The Scorpions
  • Managed by: Gambia Football Federation
  • Founded: 1965
  • Colours: Red, blue and white
  • Federation: CAF
  • Head coach: Tom Saintfiet
  • Captain: Pa Modou Jagne
  • Most caps: Pa Modou Jagne( 39)
  • Top scorer: Assan Ceesay( 11)
  • FIFA ranking: 150 (as of December 2021)
  • World cup appearance: Never Qualified
  • Stadium: Independence Stadium

Gambia national football team

They belong to the West African football union. Despite having successful players worldwide, they have been unlucky in their international career. They have never won the AFCON or any other cup. However, they have had an excellent run with their current coach having qualified for the AFCON for the first time.

It is a massive achievement since qualifying for AFCON is not easy. They hope to get past the group stages and have a chance at the cup. They currently top their group in the AFCON 2022 competition.

Gambia national football team players

Gambia national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname
Jarju Mustapha of Gambia vies for the ball against Mexico's player during an international friendly ahead of the 2010 World cup. Photo: Mario Castillo
Source: Getty Images

They have a 28 man squad as of 2022. Their coach named the following for their squad:

  • The Goalkeepers are M. Jobe, S. Sibi and B. Gaye,
  • The Centrebacks are O. Colley, B. Sanneh, N. Sonko Sundberg, J. Gomez, and M. Mbye,
  • The Left backs are Pa Modouand I. Touray,
  • Their only Right back is S. Janko
  • Their Defensive midfielders are E. Darboe, S. Marreh, and D. Ngum,
  • The Central midfielders include Y. Bobb, E. Sohna, E. and Adams,
  • The left-wingers are M. Barrow and Y. Njie
  • The Right-winger is A. Jallow,
  • The Center forwards are D. Darboe, B. Trawally, A. Ceesay, L. Jallow, M. Badamosi and B. Jobe.

Their average squad age is 26 years. The captain is Pa Modou, and their coach is Tom Saintfiet.

Gambia national football team roster

Their team roster has 28 players averaging 26 years in age. Pa Modou is the captain.

Their players include:

  • M. Jobe, S. Sibi and B. Gaye in the goalkeeping position,
  • O. Colley, B. Sanneh, N. Sonko Sundberg, J. Gomez, and M. Mbye in the centerback position,
  • Pa Modou and I. Touray in the left-back position,
  • S. Janko as right-back,
  • E. Darboe, S. Marreh, and D. Ngum in the defensive midfield position,
  • Y. Bobb, E. Sohna, E. and Adams as central midfielders,
  • M. Barrow and Y. Njie as left-wingers,
  • A. Jallow as a right-winger,
  • D. Darboe, B. Trawally, A. Ceesay, L. Jallow, M. Badamosi and B. Jobe as centre forwards.

Gambia national football team ranking

They are currently ranked at number 150. This rank is just below Afghanistan and above Yemen. Their highest rank ever was 65, and their lowest rank was 179.

Gambia national football team AFCON

They are currently in group F in AFCON. They have won one match and drew the other. Mali is the second team, with Tunisia coming in third. Mauritania is the last in the group and has not won a single game. They hope to win their third game to qualify for the knockout stages. They play Tunisia on 20th January 2022.

Gambia national football team captain

Their captain is Pa Modou. He plays as a Left back and sometimes as a centre back for FC Dietikon in Switzerland. His club career has been mostly abroad. He was born on 26th December 1989 and is 32 years old.

Gambia national football team coach

Gambia national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname
Gambia national football team coach giving his players instructions during the AFCON match against Mauritania on 12th January 2022. Photo Issouf Sanogo
Source: Getty Images

Their coach is Tom Saintfiet. The 48 year old Belgian international has been their coach since 2018. He has coached many different African teams, including Namibia and Zimbabwe. He was born on 29th March 1973 in Mol, Belgium. He hopes to win the AFCON with the team.

Gambia national football team world rankings

They were ranked at number 150 by Fifa s of 2022. Their best rank was 65 in 2009, and 179 was their lowest in 2017.

Gambia national football team trophies

They have not won any trophies as of 2022.

Gambia national football team nickname

Their nickname is the Scorpions.

Gambia national football team shirt

Their home shirt is red, with their away shirt being white.

Gambia national football team Twitter

Their Twitter page is @thegambiaff. As of January 2022, they have 6433 followers.

Gambia national football team Instagram

Their Instagram handle is @the_gff_official. They have over 4 thousand followers at the time of writing this article.

Gambia world cup qualifier

They did not qualify for the World Cup qualifiers after being edged out by Angola in 2019.

"Sadly enough, we won't play World Cup qualifiers. We were kicked out in 2019 against Angola, so we're playing friendlies,"

Their coach, Saintfiet, was quoted. He was further quoted saying,

"It's a little bit tough to find good opponents because most of the teams are playing World Cup qualifiers. But in December, we will have the opponents who will be at Afcon."

They hope to win the AFCON 2022 and qualify for the next world cup qualifiers.

Gambia national team results

In the current AFCON, they beat Mauritania 1 nil in their first match. They later drew 1-1 with Mali. They will face Tunisia next and hope to win to advance to the next stage of AFCON 2022.

As the newbies in the AFCON, the Gambia national football team has surprised many by their incredible performance. They hope to establish their team for more success in continental and international competitions.

READ ALSO: Ghanaians blast Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac after shocking AFCON exit

Sportsbrief.com also reported what Ghanaians had to say to their coach after being knocked out of the AFCON in the group stages.

Read more on what they had to say here!

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