The head coach of Gambia has said they are well prepared to take on Guinea in the round of 16 at the on-going TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021 in cameroon.
Tom Saintfiet made it clear that it is not by surprise that they managed to qualify for the knock out stage without suffering defeat in the group stage.
“We have worked hard to qualify for the AFCON and we continue to work hard so that we get to the later stages of the tournament. We are well motivated for the challenge we shall face in the knockout stage and the players know what to expect,” added Saintfiet.
Gambia will take on Guinea on January 24th at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam in the round of 16. The Scorpions are among one of the teams that are unbeaten since the AFCON 2021 kicked off in Cameroon.
They started with a 1-0 win over Mauritania, before settling for a 1-1 draw against Mali and shocking highly ranked Tunisia 1-0 in the last Group game.
Saintfiet maintained that they are not in Cameroon to make numbers, but to prove that they can be competitive and perform well. “It’s not just about playing well in this AFCON, but to get the exposure here and build a team that will be able to qualify for other tournaments,” added the Belgian.
He made it clear that he is proud that he guided The Gambia to qualify for their first AFCON and performing well in the tournament is also very good. “We shall not give up and will push hard to try and jump the Guinea hurdle,” he added.
