Gambia joined the
2021 Africa Cup of Nations as the lowest-ranked team of the tournament as well as the lowest-ranked team ever to participate in AFCON.[1] They debuted with a 1–0 win over
Mauritania followed by a 1–1 draw to
Mali. Gambia qualified for the round of 16 with a game to spare and on 20 January defeated
Tunisia 1–0 in their final group match.[2] They finished with the same points as Mali, which, however, won the group due to a better overall goal difference.[3]
Gambia continued to impress in the round of 16, defeating
Guinea 1–0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the tournament.[4][5] After a goalless first half, Gambia lost 2–0 to host
Cameroon in the quarter-final in
Douala.[6]
^The Mauritania v Gambia match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 17:00, but was delayed to 17:45 due to timing issues in the Tunisia v Mali match.