Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet only planned to name his squad on Tuesday, but the final 27-man selection had to be submitted to the Confederation of African Football last Wednesday and they made it public on Sunday.

It sees a return for the bulk of the squad that reached the quarter-final on their debut appearance at the last finals, beating Tunisia in the group stages and Guinea in the last 16.

Among the nine newcomers in a 27-man squad is 19-year-old Feyenoord striker Yankuba Minteh, who has played Champions League this season, and 27-year-old wingback Jacob Mendy, who helped Wrexham in their return to the Football League last year.

Gambia have been drawn in Group C at the tournament in the Ivory Coast and open their campaign against defending champions Senegal in Yamoussoukro on January 15th. They also take on Guinea and Cameroon in their group.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Baboucarr Gaye (Lokomotiv Sofia), Modou Jobe (Musanze), Lamin Sarr (Eskilsminne)

Defenders: Omar Colley (Besiktas), James Gomez (Sparta Prague), Saidy Janko (Young Boys Berne), Dawda Ngum (Ariana), Jacob Mendy (Wrexham), Bubacarr Sanneh (Zvijerda), Muhammed Sanneh (Banik Ostrava), Noah Sonko-Sundberg (Ludogorets Razgrad), Ibou Touray (Stockport County)

Midfielders: Sanyang Abdoulie (Grenoble), Ebou Adams (Cardiff City), Hamza Barry (Vejle), Yusupha Bobb (Kawkab Marrakech), Ebrima Darboe (LASK Linz), Ablie Jallow (Metz), Sulayman Marreh (Gent), Alasana Manneh (Odense)

Forwards: Muhammed Badamosi (Al Hazem), Musa Barrow (Al Tawoon), Assan Ceesay (Damac), Ebrima Colley (Young Boys Berne), Alieu Fadera (Racing Genk), Yankuba Minteh (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Ali Sowe (Ankaragucu).