Former England youth international and Gambia striker has picked Joe Gomez as Gambia’s star performer at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Scorpions – playing in the biennial African football showpiece for the first time ever – have been one of the surprise packages of the ongoing tournament in Cameroon.
Musa Barrow’s second-half effort saw them subdue Guinea 1-0 in their Round of 16 fixture played at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam.
Lauding Tom Saintfiet’s men for their awe-inspiring so far, he showered encomium on Gambia players for their impressive displays so far.
Although Barrow and Ablie Jallow have found the net on two occasions, he has singled out the Denmark based player as the team’s most outstanding player.
“He is an unsung hero at the moment – maybe people who understand football will know what I am talking about,” Samba told GOAL.
“For me, the person who has stood out the most is our centre back and his name is James Gomez.
“I think without him, we would have struggled. Everyone keeps going with the attacking flair, people who have scored the goals and so on, but this is the guy who stops the goals
“No disrespect to other players, James Gomez is my number one player for the Gambia and he has been so impressive.”
Shortly after Saintfiet’s team saw off the Syli Nationale, Samba – who accrued switched allegiance to the West African country despite representing England at various youth levels – went on social media to celebrate his compatriots.
The Gambia has finally got the attention from the football world that we deserveMaaaan I’m so proud of these players. After so many years of building, we have not only qualified for our first ever AFCON, but we’re now in the quarter finals!#TeamGambia #AFCON2021 #Scorpions pic.twitter.com/zQm4mtIGKr— Cherno Samba (@samgerfc) January 24, 2022
“The Gambia has finally got the attention from the football world that we deserve Maaaan I’m so proud of these players,” he wrote on Twitter.
“After so many years of building, we have not only qualified for our first ever Acon, but we’re now in the quarter-finals!”
Gambia face hosts Cameroon in the quarter-final on Saturday at the Japoma Stadium in Douala.
Victory for them will see them pick up a ticket to the semi-final where they will lock horn with either Morocco or Cote d'Ivoire/Egypt for a place in the final.