Gambia's Tom Saintfiet: "This team never gives up"

The earthquake struck on Friday night into Saturday, when you had been in Marrakech with your squad for several days…

Yes, we had been there since 4 September. On the Friday evening, when the earthquake hit, some players and staff members were either by the pool at our hotel or in their rooms. We were very shaken, in shock. We were scared. In the moment, I felt like everything was going to stop. There was damage at our hotel, with pieces of plaster falling from the ceiling. The district where we were staying was not the worst hit in Marrakech.

You quickly made it known that playing this match was not a good idea and that it would be better to postpone it. That view was shared by your players, as well as the Congolese…

I think football, in this kind of situation, is not important. It did not feel right to me to play this match when a country had just suffered a tragedy, when people had just died and others were injured or missing. Some of my players even considered leaving Marrakech on the Saturday. They were not in the right frame of mind to play this match, they were in shock and were thinking mostly of the victims. I said the game should be postponed, but I had no communication with CAF. On the Saturday, my federation told me we had to play…

"It did not feel right to me to play this match after this tragedy in Morocco"

Were you able to prepare for this match reasonably well?

There was a training session on the Saturday. Then on the night of Saturday into Sunday, some players preferred to sleep by the pool, while others slept in rooms but on the first floor, so they could get out quickly in the event of an aftershock. Before the match, I told the players we had to play with the victims in mind, and that we had to make the work done over the years count. But it wasn't easy.

How do you explain that poor first half?

We made poor decisions, positioning and concentration errors, against a good Congolese side. We conceded two goals, one of them a very, very harsh penalty. But the refereeing doesn't explain that first half. Fortunately, there was a good reaction and we managed to come back to 2-2. We often score late on, or in added time. The players don't give up, they are motivated, and it paid off again against Congo.

A second qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations is no accident…

No, because it is always hard to back up a first appearance. In recent years, Burundi and Madagascar, who were there in 2019, and the Comoros in 2022, were not able to follow it up with a second qualification. Our qualification shows that we are progressing, that the team is more competitive each time. We will wait for the draw in October.

Qualif #CAN2023 : A goal that will go down in history! In the 90th minute, Badamosi levels for Gambia against Congo and secures their ticket to the next AFCON! 🥰 pic.twitter.com/rUvyYs3yZe

— CANAL+ SPORT Afrique (@cplussportafr) September 10, 2023

Will your team play friendlies in October?

I don't think so. I've been told it probably won't be possible for budget reasons. I'll still make some enquiries... We will play twice in November, in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Burundi and Ivory Coast, and to prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations, we will probably hold a training camp in the Persian Gulf. I will also travel to watch my players and do some scouting. I have 90% of the squad that will go to Ivory Coast in January in my head, but there may be injuries. We have quite a lot of work to do between now and January!

Alexis Billebault

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