Brighton & Hove Albion winger Yankuba Minteh headlines the squad after missing the opening qualifiers against Somalia, and Ghana in October owing to an injury.
Minteh last played for Gambia on October 10th, 2025, in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Gabon. His return will be a major boost to McKinstry, who won their first two qualifiers.
Gambia kicked off their qualification campaign with a 2-1 win against Somalia before producing a stunning 4-2 victory against Ghana's Black Stars.
Another player returning to the Gambia squad is Musa Barrow, whose last game for the Scorpions was against Comoros on October 9th, 2026, where he scored a stunning free-kick in the final minute of added time to rescue a 1-1 draw.
However, Barrow missed Gambia’s subsequent opening AFCON qualifiers against Somalia and Ghana due to injury.
Minteh and Barrow ready to go
McKinstry has welcomed the return of Minteh and Barrow. He said: "Musa (Barrow) has played a few games, scored a few goals and got Man of the Match in at least one, if not two, of his games.
"Both of them are fit and ready to go, though Musa probably has a little more match fitness than Yankuba (Minteh). We’ll assess that once they’re in camp with us."
On facing Ivory Coast, the Northern Irishman said: "We expect two very challenging games. We go in confident that we know we can go toe-to-toe with Ivory Coast.
"They have a very strong bench, so if Plan A isn’t working, the players who come into the game are also elite-level players.
"We know we’ve got to deal with their combinations, but we also know that they have some gaps that we can exploit."
Gambia will now face Ivory in the back-to-back Group C matches on November 12th and November 17th. Despite being named in the squad, Jesper Ceesay and Suleiman Camara have withdrawn due to injuries.
A statement from the Gambia FA confirmed that Ceesay and Camara have already been replaced by Saidou Khan and winger Salieu Drammeh.
"The Gambia FA regrets to announce that Jesper Ceesay and Suleiman Camara have unfortunately had to withdraw from the Scorpions squad due to injuries," read part of the statement.
"The duo are also ruled out of our double-header AFCON qualifiers against the Ivory Coast. We wish both players a speedy recovery.
"Coach McKinstry has called up midfielder Saidou Khan and winger Salieu Drammeh as their replacements."
After playing the matchday three in Bouake on Tuesday, Gambia will return home for the second meeting against the Elephants at Banjul on November 17th.
Gambia squad for Ivory Coast matches
Goalkeepers: Baboucarr Gaye (Shkendija, North Macedonia), Ebrima Jarju (Paide Linnameeskond, Estonia), Sheikh Sibi (Virtus Verona, Italy)
Defenders: Omar Colley (Al-Fayha, Saudi Arabia), Sheriff Sinyan (Rapid Bucuresti, Romania), Yaya Bojang (Alverca, Portugal), Alagie Saine (AC Horsens, Denmark), Joseph Colley (KF Tirana, Albania), Ibou Touray (Bradford City, England), Sainey Sanyang (Botev Vratsa, Bulgaria), Joseph Ceesay (Empoli, Italy)
Midfielders: Ebou Adams (Portsmouth, England), Abubakarr Barry (RB Salzburg, Austria), Mahmudu Bajo (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia), Alasana Manneh (Kolding IF, Denmark), Jesper Ceesay (Antalyaspor, Turkiye), Karamba Gassama (Gaziantep, Turkiye)
Forwards: Suleiman Camara (Slovan Bratislava, Slovakia), Ebrima Colley (Konyaspor, Turkiye), Abdoulie Sanyang (Hajduk Split, Croatia), Yankuba Minteh (Brighton & Hove Albion, England), Musa Barrow (Al Khaleej, Saudi Arabia), Abdoulie Ceesay (St Pauli, Germany), Mohamed Badamosi (Riga FC, Latvia), Adama Bojang (Charleroi, Belgium)
