Barrow and Minteh return as Gambia name squad for Côte d’Ivoire double-header
The Gambia have been handed a major boost ahead of their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 qualifying double-header against Côte d’Ivoire, with Musa Barrow and Yankuba Minteh returning to Johnathan McKinstry’s 25-man squad.
Brighton winger Minteh and Al Khaleej forward Barrow both missed the Scorpions’ opening qualifiers against Somalia and Ghana through injury but have recovered in time for the important Group C meetings on 12 and 17 November.
The Gambia have made a perfect start to the campaign, beating Somalia 2-1 before producing an impressive 4-2 victory away to Ghana to move level with Côte d’Ivoire on six points.
McKinstry said the return of two of his most influential attacking players will increase competition in a squad that already performed strongly during the previous international window.
“Musa has played a few games, scored a few goals and got Man of the Match in at least one, if not two, of his games,” McKinstry said.
“Both of them are fit and ready to go, though Musa probably has a little more match fitness than Yankuba. We’ll assess that once they’re in camp with us.”
The coach said Barrow and Minteh have been among The Gambia’s most productive players since he took charge in 2024.
“There are two players who, since I arrived, have done fantastically well for the national team. Between the two of them, they’ve probably scored 15 or 16 goals,” he said.
The squad retains much of the group involved in the victories over Somalia and Ghana, with captain Omar Colley, Ebou Adams, Mohamed Badamosi, Ebrima Colley and Abdoulie Ceesay among those selected.
There are also returns for Sheriff Sinyan, Alasana Manneh and Jesper Ceesay, while Slovan Bratislava winger Suleiman Camara has been included despite a recent injury concern.
However, Alieu Fadera and Adama Sidibeh miss out through injury, while James Gomez is not part of the final group.
The Scorpions travel to Bouaké for the first meeting with Côte d’Ivoire before hosting the Elephants at the Independence Stadium in Bakau five days later.
McKinstry expects two demanding encounters but believes his side have shown enough over the past two years to compete with one of the continent’s strongest teams.
“We expect two very challenging games,” he said. “We go in confident that we know we can go toe to toe with Côte d’Ivoire.”
The Northern Irishman highlighted Côte d’Ivoire’s pace, combination play and depth but insisted The Gambia will also look to exploit weaknesses in their opponents.
“They have a very strong bench, so if Plan A isn’t working, the players who come into the game are also elite-level players,” McKinstry added.
“We know we’ve got to deal with their combinations, but we also know that they have some gaps that we can exploit.”
With both teams taking maximum points from their opening two matches, the back-to-back fixtures could have a major influence on the battle for top spot in Group C.
The Gambia squad for Côte d’Ivoire
Goalkeepers:
Baboucarr Gaye (Shkëndija, North Macedonia)
Ebrima Jarju (Paide Linnameeskond, Estonia)
Sheikh Sibi (Virtus Verona, Italy)
Defenders:
Omar Colley (Al-Fayha, Saudi Arabia)
Sheriff Sinyan (Rapid București, Romania)
Yaya Bojang (Alverca, Portugal)
Alagie Saine (AC Horsens, Denmark)
Joseph Colley (KF Tirana, Albania)
Ibou Touray (Bradford City, England)
Sainey Sanyang (Botev Vratsa, Bulgaria)
Joseph Ceesay (Empoli, Italy)
Midfielders:
Ebou Adams (Portsmouth, England)
Abubakarr Barry (RB Salzburg, Austria)
Mahmudu Bajo (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia)
Alasana Manneh (Kolding IF, Denmark)
Jesper Ceesay (Antalyaspor, Türkiye)
Karamba Gassama (Gaziantep, Türkiye)
Forwards:
Suleiman Camara (Slovan Bratislava, Slovakia)
Ebrima Colley (Konyaspor, Türkiye)
Abdoulie Sanyang (Hajduk Split, Croatia)
Yankuba Minteh (Brighton & Hove Albion, England)
Musa Barrow (Al Khaleej, Saudi Arabia)
Abdoulie Ceesay (St Pauli, Germany)
Mohamed Badamosi (Riga FC, Latvia)
Adama Bojang (Charleroi, Belgium)