Gambiavs.Tunisia

Gambia are currently in second place in Group A with one point, while Tunisia lead the group after beating Madagascar at home on matchday one of the competition.

Match preview

Gambia are hoping to reach the Africa Cup of Nations main draw for a third consecutive time, following a quarter-final appearance in 2021-22 and a group-stage exit in the last edition in the Ivory Coast earlier this year.

The Scorpions kicked off their qualification campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Comoros last week, with Musa Barrow scoring the all-important goal on the stroke of halftime to rule out Youssouf M'Changama's opener eight minutes earlier.

However, Johnny McKinstry will likely be somewhat disappointed that his side only came away from that match with a point, having dominated possession (67%) and registered a total of 13 shots at goal.

With that result, the Northern Irish manager has now split his first three games in charge of the Scorpions one win, one draw and one loss, though it was the first time he saw his side fail to score two or more goals in a match.

While Gambia are ranked 132nd in the world and 34 places behind their upcoming opponent among CAF region representatives, they have won both previous encounters against Tunisia, most recently at the AFCON in 2022.

For Tunisia, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations represents a chance for redemption after they were dumped out in the group stage without winning a single game in the competition earlier this year.

Since then, the Carthage Eagles have played five matches, drawing goalless in their two March friendlies against Croatia and New Zealand, before beating Equatorial Guinea (1-0) and drawing with Namibia (0-0) in their World Cup qualifiers back in June.

Now under the guidance of Faouzi Benzarti, Tunisia made a positive start to their AFCON qualification campaign, beating Madagascar 1-0 at Stade Olympique Hammadi-Agrebi on Thursday night.

However, while the Carthage Eagles were by far the dominant side in the contest, managing 65% possession and 17 shots at goal compared to their opponents' seven, Tunisia only managed to secure the victory in the eighth minute of stoppage time through Ferjani Sassi.

Nevertheless, the result marked the sixth consecutive clean sheet for Tunisia dating back to a 1-1 draw against Mali in January, and they are likely to prioritise shutting out their upcoming opponents in this one as well.

Gambia Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

D

Gambia form (all competitions):

L

L

L

L

W

D

Tunisia Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

W

Tunisia form (all competitions):

D

L

W

W

D

W

Team News

Young Boys' new recruit Ebrima Colley was hooked at halftime against the Comoros for Hamza Barry, and the latter is expected to be given the nod from the start of this match, in which case, Gambia are likely to switch to a 4-4-2 formation.

Brighton & Hove Albion attacker Yankuba Minteh should keep his place at the top end of the pitch, though McKinstry may consider partnering him up with El Fardou Ben after Ali Sowe's quiet outing in the last game.

Sassi's match-winner against Madagascar may have earned him a spot in the starting 11 this week, potentially in place of Ali Youssef, who was withdrawn before the hour mark in the same match.

Bilel Mejri made an impressive cameo in the final minutes of the last match and will be hoping to start this one, while Mortadha Ben Ouanes is a minor doubt owing to a knock.

Gambia possible starting lineup:

Sibi; J Ceesay, E Ceesay, Gomez, Touray; Jallow, Adams, Marrow; Minteh, Ben, Barry

Tunisia possible starting lineup:

Memmiche; Bouchniba, Meriah, Talbi, Abdi; Ltaief, Rafia, Laidouni; Sassi, Romdhane, Ouanes

We say: Gambia 1-1 Tunisia

While Tunisia are still ranked in the top 10 sides in the CAF region, their performances over the last year have been well below expectations. Gambia, on the other hand, have been steadily improving over the same period, and if they can find a way to tighten up defensively, we could see them moving up the rankings in the coming months.

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