By Momodou Jarju
The head coach of The Gambia’s Scorpions Johnathan McKinstry will name his squad today for next month’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Gambia will play against Kenya away on the 5th and host Burundi on the 9th in Kenya as the country’s football authorities still fall short of ensuring the Independence Stadium’s pitch meets CAF’s required standards.
McKinstry will announce his squad in the form of a press conference at 11am. According to GFF Media, Wednesday’s press conference will be held virtually because McKinstry has travelled to Nairobi to finalise his preparations and logistics ahead of the team’s arrival next week.
The Scorpions will be looking for revenge after losing 3-2 away to Burundi in the first match of the qualifiers and drawing against Kenya in the fifth match of the qualifiers—a game they should have won but fumbled. McKinstry expressed his anger at the 3-3 draw as his-led charges led the Harambee Stars twice in the game but crumbled at the stroke of time.
Musa Barrow broke the deadlock in the 55th minute after missing a penalty in the first half before Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh doubled their lead six minutes later. Harambee Stars’ Michael Olunga reduced the deficit to 2-1 from the spot kick in the 69th minute before Mohammed Bajaba restored parity in the 75th minute. The Scorpions retook their lead in the 84th minute courtesy of Barrow to complete his brace, only for William Wilson to snatch a point for the Harambee Stars in the 90+6 minutes of the game.
When quizzed about his reaction after the game, a visibly unhappy McKinstry shared his frustration saying they cannot play like that.
“We can’t go 2-0 up and then 3-2 up and not win the game. And when I say it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough from everybody. It’s not good enough from the players who play at a very high level of the game, but it’s not good enough for me. It’s not good enough from the staff. And we’ve got to get it right. So, yeah, it feels like a loss,” he told the press.
The Scorpions then narrowly lost 1-0 to Côte d’Ivoire in the sixth game of the qualifiers when the Elephants’ striker Sebastian Haller scored the all-important goal just 15 minutes into the game, heading in a well-placed assist from former Brighton’s youngster Simon Adingra.
The Scorpions put up a strong-willed fight on the heels of a disappointing draw against Kenya in the previous game. Scores of chances were created in the second half in particular as they fought for an equaliser to no avail. The loss severely dented The Gambia’s bid for a maiden appearance at the finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Scorpions’ Qualification Chances
The Gambia remain second from bottom with four points, 12 points behind leaders Côte d’Ivoire and 11 behind second-placed Gabon in Group F. For The Scorpions to have a chance to qualify, they need to win their remaining four matches in the group whilst current second-placed occupant Gabon, on 15 points, ought to lose theirs. At the same time, the other two group members, Burundi on 7 points and Kenya on 6 points, should garner less than 16 points as well. On 16 points, they would be second and tied with Côte d’Ivoire if they too lose all their remaining games. Goal difference would then decide who leads the pack.
Based on the novel qualification format CAF introduced as the global football showpiece got expanded for next year’s edition, only the group winner will secure automatic qualification while the four best-ranked second-placed finishers across the nine groups will be drawn into play-offs. The winners in the semi-finals face each other in the final to determine who plays at the intercontinental play-off tournament. From there, the winner would join five other teams across the globe to compete for the final two places at the 2026 finals. Accomplishing this feat has never been harder!
