2021 AFCON: Gambia's Scorpions open maiden appearance against Mauritania Lions of Chinguetti
Limbe, Cameroon (PANA) - The Gambia senior national football team, The Scorpions, will open their maiden appearance at the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament on Wednesday when they play against Mauritania Lions of Chinguetti in Group F at the Limbe Omnisport Stadium.
The match is seen as a clash between two inexperienced sides at the tournament in Cameroon.
The Scorpions are all set to make their tournament debut with this game, having secured a historic maiden qualification, while the Lions of Chinguetti have qualified for only the second time ever, having made their tournament debut in the 2019 edition in Egypt.
They bowed out at the group stage without a single win and will be hoping for a better result in Cameroon, although it won't be easy against the group's big guns, Tunisia and Mali.
Mauritania and neighbours Gambia have clashed 20 times, with Mauritania winning on five occasions and losing eight times.
Their last meeting, coming in March 2016 for an AFCON qualifier, ended goalless.
For Gambia, forward Musa Barrow, who plays for Italian side Bologna, is the biggest star in the team.
The side's all-time appearance-maker Pa Modou Jagne has also been called up.
Barrow may be joined in attack by Assan Ceesay, the top-scorer in the Gambian team with 11 goals in 20 games.
The Lions of Chinguetti have called up a young and inexperienced 28-man squad for the tournament, headlined by former striker of English Championship side Fulham, Aboubakar Kamara.
Head coach Didier Da Rosa has also included 16-year-old Beyatt Lekweiry in his squad. Babacar Diop, Mbacke Ndiay and Mohamed El Mokhtar are some of the local players called up to the squad.
-0- PANA MSS/MA 12Jan2022
