I thought a plane had crashed into the hotel, because it was close to the airport, but after a second or two I realized it was an earthquake.”Gambia national soccer team coach Tom Saint-Pierre described the night of Aug. 8, when a 6.8-magnitude quake struck 71 kilometers from the medieval capital of Marrakech in the North African country of Morocco, as a “horrible experience.Saint-Pierre and his players felt the force of the quake as they were staying in a nearby hotel when they traveled to the Stade de Marrakech to face Congo in a CAF Confederation of African Football (CAF) Nations Cup qualifier on Tuesday.”I think the quake lasted about 30 seconds, but it felt like it never ended,” Saint-Pierre recalled in an interview with the BBC on Sept. 9.”The walls were shaking and things were falling from the ceiling and walls. I’ve never seen a building shake like that in my life,” he said, adding that he and his teammates ran out of the hotel and slept outside near the pool with other guests.”It was so scary. We heard ambulances all night and kept watching the news.”The death toll now stands at more than 2,000 as the quake struck in the middle of the night while residents were asleep, with an epicenter as shallow as 10 kilometers deep.More than 1,400 others are in critical condition, and the death toll is expected to rise as additional search and rescue efforts continue.Saint-Pierre said that some of the players who play professional soccer in Turkiye are in a state of severe trauma.They were among those who experienced the devastating earthquake in February that killed more than 58,000 people in the city and across Syria.At the time, Ghanaian international striker Christian Atsu was killed, sending the world of soccer into mourning.”Some of the players don’t want to play tomorrow,” says Saint-Pierre, noting, “Is it wise to continue playing soccer when there are so many casualties in this city?”Fortunately, there were no injuries in the Gambia or Congo squads.”We are fine,” said Congo coach Paul Foote. “We’re fine, but we’re still in shock,” said Congo coach Paul Foote, “It’s hard to focus mentally (on the game).CAF has postponed the Nations Cup qualifying Group K match between Morocco and Liberia scheduled for Tuesday. The match was scheduled to take place at Stade Adrar, about 260 kilometers from the epicenter.However, the Gmbia and Congo’s Group G match in Marrakech will still go ahead, Reuters reported.Saint-Pierre told Reuters, “We have been informed that the match will go ahead as scheduled. It’s a bit strange that Morocco’s game is canceled and ours is not.”Morocco have already secured at least second place in Group K, meaning they will qualify regardless of the outcome of their final match against Liberia.The Gambia-Congo match, on the other hand, could still decide the fate of the two teams. If the Congolese win by five goals, they will finish with the same number of points (9) and the same number of goals conceded (0), 카지노사이트킹 thus qualifying over the Gambia on goal difference.
