Who is he taking to face Comoros and Tunisia?
Gambia coach Johnny McKinstry is entering a critical stage of his work. Tasked to deliver a ticket to the Africa Cup of Nations, he has two matches left to redeem his team’s current unimpressive standing in the campaign.
And only a week ago, him and the nation’s hope were delt a heavy blow when Caf blocked plans to host the first of the two matches- against Comoros at home. This decision stretches the ban on the national arena to well over five years and it could not come at worse time. The team needs to win the very next match or face doom. It will now have to play in Morocco on 15 November and must beat Comoros to stay alive in the qualifiers ahead of the final show down in Tunisia.
This afternoon, starting from midday, McKinstry will unveil his squad for the final two matches at a press conference at Football House.
Whereas the list will remain unknown until then, it is logical to expect that it will contain players that are currently on top of their game and are available, in line with the coach’s own philosophy. He also said he is flexible depending on the material and the job at the time.
However, with a must- win match in Morocco, McKinstry and his boys cannot afford to go wrong. Qualification to Afcon is very much needed to allow sanity in the nation’s football and to provide respite from the gloom and doom brought about by the stadium debacle.
