Highly-rated midfielder Ebrima Sohna is being tipped to miss out in the squad for this month’s Afcon qualifiers between the Scorpions of The Gambia and the Maurabitones of Mauritania.
A Source close to Football House told Observer Sports that the former U-17 and U-20 tough tackling midfielder is among the foreign-based players not invited by Scorpions Coach Sang Ndong for the all-important double-legged tie on the 25th March in Nouackchott and 29th March in Banjul.
In an interview with Observer Sports on Monday, Sang Ndong said he is expecting some players plying their trade in Europe and Senegal to join the local-based squad, but would not disclose their identities at the time.
The 27-year-old Sohna first joined the National Team set-up in 2003 when he helped Gambia secure a first ever continental qualification in the African U-17 Championship in Swaziland that year. He later became an African champion in that category when Gambia hosted and won the tournament two years later.
He was one of the best performers for the country in the 2005 championship in Peru. He later graduated to the U-20 team, where he won silver at the 2007 African Youth Championship in Congo, and played at the World Cup in Canada later that year.
Sohna has since graduated to the national team, and is regarded by many as one of the most committed players for the Scorpions. “The fans see everything. They see how committed you are and how ready you are to win for the country and that is why they give me that respect and I appreciate it. I promise that I will continue to fight on the pitch for the fans and my country anytime I am in the Gambian jersey,” he said in a recent interview with Observer Sports.
by Alieu Ceesay