Gambia, Colombia In Decisive Game Tomorrow

The Gambia National U-17 team that conceded two consecutive defeats in the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup currently in session in the Federal Republic of Nigeria will wrap-up their group C fixtures with a game against Colombia that is likely to progress to the round of 16 after securing four points in their opening two games against Neitherlands and Iran, respectively.

The Baby Scorpions that began the competition with defeats against the Asian champions Iran and the European runners-up Neitherland four days ago are absolutely struggling at the bottom of Group C with zero point having conceded a total of four goals scoring only one which came, courtesy of Captain Ebrima Bojang from a penalty-spot.

 Even a win for the Baby Scorpions against In-Form Colombia tomorrow might not guarantee them a place in the next stage, taking into consideration both Iran and Colombia are leveled on four points with a game left to be played even though there is still a possibility that we might be among the best losers.

But the Gambian fans are beginning to express dissatisfaction following the FA’s unpopular decision to undergo a three-week intensive training camp in the United Kingdom instead of choosing an African country as the venue for the international training camp in order to be familiar with the climatic condition in Africa since the tournament is taking place in an African country.

Others attributed the team’s failure to deliver to the results of the magnetic resonance MRI test, which has witnessed a major shake-up in the U-17 team and has since led to the departure of at least 11 key members from the previous U-17 squad who were so instrumental in guiding the country to another historic moment after achieving their second African U-17 championship title with a deserved 3-1 victory over Algeria in Algiers some seven months ago, while others blamed the late preparation for the team’s worse performance and have since called on the GFA to learn from what they called this unfortunate situation.

The defeat to Colombia would certainly put an end to The Gambia’s participation in the FIFA's third biggest tournament which could also confirm their three-match beaten run.

The two time-African Champions despite undergoing some frustrating moments prior to the tournament were highly tipped to make a huge impact but they have now turned to be the biggest disappointment as a result of the lack of composure, poor defending, and collectivity, coupled with some poor finishing which has cast a shadow over the club and has since continued to cause public debate among the Gambian football fraternity.