While the Gambia have the slimmest of chances to qualify for the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations as one of the four best-ranked third-placed teams, the reality is they haven’t been at the races. The Scorpions will be disappointed with the performances they’ve put in against Guinea and Senegal, leaving them at the bottom of the group without any points.
Gambian fans can forgive their coach, Tom Saintfiet, and the team since this is just their second appearance at this tournament in their history.
However, they will look to put in a better performance against Cameroon on Tuesday evening in Bouaké, which may very well be their last game for this year’s competition.
Cameroon is still in with a sniff for an automatic qualification spot alongside group leaders Senegal.
However, they would require the already-qualified champions to beat Guinea while comprehensively seeing off the Gambia.
It’s not an impossible feat that fans of one of the most successful African nations will be hoping for on Tuesday.
West African domination
The five-time AFCON champions are at risk of leaving the competition early, but their history and pedigree won’t allow them to leave quietly.
They need to win big on Tuesday, likely by two or more goals, depending on the margin of victory for Senegal.
Cameroon and the Gambia have met three times before this, with the 2017 champions winning on all three occasions.
They are in a poor run of form, winning only one of their last five internationals and suffering a 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Friday night.
The desire for one of Africa’s powerhouses to be in the next round should be enough for Cameroon to overturn the Gambia in their final group game.
Gambia’s scoring struggles
The Gambia are on a run of four losses on the bounce, not the type of form that stirs much confidence.
Their poor scoring form has been one of the main reasons for those results. The Scorpions have failed to find the net in each of their last three internationals.
Cameroon have a record of never conceding in any of their three matches against Tom Saintfiet’s charges.
Cameroun is slow to start.
Cameroon have generally been slow to start, especially in this tournament, conceding first and early in the first half in their two group games.
However, their two internationals before the tournament also saw them go into the break deadlocked with their opponents.
The Gambia isn’t easy to breakdown, as Guinea found out on Friday. The National Elephants had to wait until the 69th minute for their breakthrough.
While Cameroon needs to be at it from the first whistle, their lack of potency in front of goal might delay their scoring until the second period.
