The Scorpions of The Gambia has finished 6th position in their maiden appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) released the final rankings of all 24 teams that participated in the competition.
The Gambia’s maiden appearance at the continental football exhibition continues to bring more glory to the country and her people.
The latest sixth-place finish in the competition might be used to encourage and bluster Gambia’s confidence in their preparations for the Afcon 2023 tournament starting with the preliminary round against Chad.
The Gambia under the guidance of Coach Tom Saintfiet went into the competition as the lowest ranked side ever at 152 but hit the competition by storm when they became the first country after Equatorial Guinea in 2012 to have won their maiden match in the competition with a 1-0 win over Mauritania.
The win was followed by a 1-1 draw with Mali in their second group game, and a last gasp winner against Tunisia ensured the Scorpions qualified to the second round of the competition by finishing just a goal behind group winners.
A round of 16 place against Guinea Conakry was secured and the two West Africans met at the Stade de Bafoussam with Musa Barrow’s 71st minute goal securing a 1-0 win to book a place in the quarterfinals for The Gambia where they lost to host, Cameroon 2-0.
In the final rankings, Senegal finished on top, followed by runners up Egypt and Cameroon in third. Burkina Faso was ranked number four followed in fifth place by Morocco. Mauritania is the lowest ranked team on 24.