Tunisia Carthage Eagles  will take on Gambia Scorpions  in a 2025  Africa Cup of Nations  qualifying game at Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi on Monday.

The clash will have no bearing on who qualifies from Group A, as the hosts have already secured their place mathematically, while the visitors are already eliminated.

Tunisia confirmed their spot at the 2025 AFCON after a dramatic 3-2 win over Madagascar at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Thursday.

The Eagles of Carthage took an early lead through Hamza Rafia  but were pegged back by an own goal from goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche   before regaining the lead courtesy of Sayfallah Ltief,   only for Ibrahim Amada  to restore parity once more for Madagascar, ending the first half 2-2.

The first half set such a high bar for goals that the second half could not match, and things really sprung to life after Tunisia were reduced to ten men when Wajdi Kechrida   was sent off for two bookable offences in the 89th minute, only for Ali Abdi   to step up in stoppage time to score a header that secured victory, sending the North Africans to AFCON 2025.

With 10 points after five matches, it is mathematically impossible for Tunisia to finish below second, but they will be hoping to end the qualification campaign on a high when they take on Gambia in front of their home fans.

Following last month’s draw with Comoros, veteran manager Faouzi Benzarti, who had only been in charge of the side for four matches in his fourth stint with the national team, was sacked.

Kais Yaakoubi,who filled the role for the win over Madagascar, will now be credited as the man who achieved Tunisia’s 2025 AFCON qualification, but he would hope to finish at the top of the table with a win on Monday.

Gambia’s hope of making it to a third consecutive AFCON ended after dramatically losing 2-1 to Comoros at Stade Municipal de Berkane last Friday.

The Scorpions went ahead in the game when Alassana Jatta  found the net, but it did not last more than seven minutes as Rafiki Said  drew level for Comoros, and with the game looking to end in a draw, the worst happened for Gambia when they conceded another goal in the 90th minute to end their AFCON dream.

Johny McKinstry was appointed in May after Tom Saintfiet resigned following a group stage exit at the 2023 AFCON, but he has since won just two matches of the seven he has managed, one in the World Cup qualifiers against Seychelles, and one in the AFCON qualifiers against Madagascar – but he will be hoping to pick up a win over Tunisia on Monday with the hope of remaining on the job.

However, with no stadium in Gambia meeting FIFA’s standards, McKinstry’s team have been forced to play their home matches on foreign grounds, and they have not won any of their last five matches on the road, losing three and drawing two.

Team News

Kechrida will miss Monday’s clash after being sent off last time out, leaving Hamza Mathlouthi or Mahmoud Ghorbel  to fill the role.

Interim boss Yaacoubi could make a number of changes to the side that won on Thursday given that qualification is already secured.

Despite scoring two goals in Gambia’s AFCON qualifiers, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yankuba Minteh   only played a substitute role last time out, but he could start on Monday.

Last game’s scorer, Jatta, is expected to retain his spot in the attacking quartet alongside Musa Barrow and Ali Sowe .

Tunisia possible starting lineup:
Memmiche; Talbi, Meriah, Mathlouthi, Abdi; Laidouni, Skhiri, Mejbri, Mahmoud; Ltaief, Laayouni

Gambia possible starting lineup:
Jarju; Gaye, Gomez, Colley, Touray; Manneh, Adams; Jatta, Sowe, Minteh; Barrow

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com