Scorpions plays Tunisia on Saturday

The Gambia senior Scorpions that left the shores of the country a few days ago will robe shoulders with Tunisia in what is expected to be the last friendly match for the Tunisian side before their nations cup opener against Zambia on the 13th January in group D opener.

The Gambian side that were held to an impressive 1-1 draw against the nations cup host Angola in Lisbon, Portugal on 3rd January is expected to go into Tunisian encounter without the services of some key players that took part in the first international friendly in Lisbon, due to the club assignment, Pointsport was reliably informed yesterday.

The absentees from the squad include Mustapha Jarju, Sunday’s goal scorer against Angola Ebrima Sohna and Abdourahman Dampha who is expected to join his new club in the Swiss first division side Neachatel Xamax where he was tied down to a four- year contract last Friday.

This means the Belgian tactician Paul Put will lead the Scorpions team to the Tunisia game with an option of relying on the youngsters with most of them enjoying the first taste of their first  Scorpions appearance, such as the Nyassi brothers, Abdou Njie who recently graduated from the rank of the history making Gambia national U-17 side.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Pa Dembo Touray remains the most experienced foreign-based stars who will captain the team for the second time since earning his come back to the Scorpions side following a three-year absence.

The Gambia is using the friendly to prepare ahead of the 2012 African Nations and World Cup qualifiers, among other continental competitions.