By Sulayman Bah
Denmark-based right-back Simon Richter is expecting to feature in more international games for the Gambia national team next year.
The 32-year-old was part of Gambia’s recent 2-1 win over Morocco’s CHAN team in what was his third friendly outing for the Scorpions.
Gambia has only the 2019 African Cup of Nations Cup to star in and with qualifier matches now pushed till late 2018, owing to the World Cup, test games are being lined up before then.
And, Richter wants to be part of it all after being told he remains vital in gaffer Sang Ndong’s plans.
The Roskilde defender however admits consistent performance at club level will be the sole guarantee for Ndong to stick with him.
‘The national team is, of course, a goal for me, but in order to play for the team, it’s also a matter of playing as high a level as possible, and I feel that I’m doing it here at second tier Roskilde,’ he says.
‘I have spoken to the coach who says that I’m part of his plans and that I just have to keep up the same way, so I get the chance. That means a lot to me, so I hope, of course, that in 2018, I will get bigger experiences with the team.’
At over 30, footballers are often said to peak at this age but the Danish-born insists his body can handle the toll.
‘I have the ambition to still play as much as possible. My body is amazing, so I have plenty of advantage to play for my club and to join the national team and there are some great experiences that I would like to keep going,’ he reckons, suggesting the Scorpions should be involved more in conducting test matches to better prepare the team for the task ahead.
Gambia lost its opening game away to Benin and will be facing Algeria in the next qualifier game.
