Gambia will be seeking a place in semi-finals of the TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON when they face the Bright Stars of South Sudan on Friday afternoon in Alexandria.
The Young Scorpions finished top of Group C with an impressive record winning all three group stage matches and head coach Abdoulie Bojang says his charges are in Egypt to set their own record.
The former Scorpions and Steve Biko maestro was named the Best Coach of the group stage by the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023 Technical Study Group on Tuesday, 28 February following the conclusion of the thrilling group stage.
“I want to thank the TSG for the Best Coach of the group stage award,” Bojang said at his pre-match press conference. “It is the work of the entire coaching staff.”
Bojang showed his technical and tactical brilliance during the group stage and even made ten changes to the team for the final group match against Benin.
“The players have shown that I can count on everyone,” Bojang said.
“Playing South Sudan is the most important game for us. All that we won is history now.
“Now we prepare for the most important match because a win will give us our first objective to qualify for the World Cup.
“The Federation has invested a lot in grassroots football so you can see the performance of the team over the years. We will respect South Sudan but also capitalise on our chances to qualify to the semi-finals next week and make Gambians proud,” he added.
Bayern Munich starlet Mamin Sanyang joined his coach for the press conference and says he is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the big guns.
“I have always had the ambition to play for The Gambia, which made it easy to convince myself,” Sanyang said.
“I want to play at the World Cup with the colours of my country.”