World Cup (Q): McKinstry says Gambia will need quality to defeat Gabon

Gambia national team head coach Johnathan McKinstry shared his thoughts ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture against Gabon at Kasarani Stadium on Friday.

Just like the Panthers, the Scorpions have also pitched camp in Nairobi, Kenya, preparing for the matchday nine fixture. Gambia will head into the match having hauled six points from their previous two qualifiers.

The Scorpions defeated Kenya 3-1 before stopping Burundi 2-0. For Gabon, they picked four points from the previous qualifiers, a 4-0 victory against Seychelles and a 0-0 draw against African champions Ivory Coast.

‘We know Gabon will be a difficult opponent’

“Preparations still ongoing, we just had one session after everyone arriving on Monday, we hope to have another one, and we know Gabon are a tough opponent, us and Gabon have an interesting history between each other, you know we can’t say we are the best friends,” McKinstry told Pan-Africa Football.

“We have had very competitive games over the years, and one or two things off the field, even 18 months ago in one of my first games, we were leading at half-time, and we could have been two or three goals ahead, and then half-time was a long time because lights went off in the stadium.

“So in the second half, the game ended 3-2 in favour of Gabon but again it was a very close and competitive game, we expect the same on Friday, you know Gabon have everything to play for, because they are in a very tight race with Ivory Coast for the first position in the group.”

He continued: “But look, in four years’ time, in the 2030 World Cup this is the position we want to be in, in terms of competing for World Cup positions.

“We know we have the quality, but this are the type of games we relish, our players are very much motivated for the game, and for us we just have to stay focused, and hopefully we have a good afternoon on Friday, but we know it is going to take a lot of hard work, and a lot of quality in order to come out with three points.”

Gambia will conclude their qualifiers with an away fixture against Seychelles at National Sports Complex Pitch 1 in Mauritania on Tuesday, October 14.

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