Equatorial Guinea national football team

Equatorial Guinea
Nickname(s) Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder)
Association Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation UNIFFAC
(Central Africa)
Head coach Ángel López
Captain Emilio Nsue
Top scorer Juvenal Edjogo (8)
Home stadium Nuevo Estadio de Malabo
FIFA code EQG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 141 Increase 2 (20 September 2018)
Highest 49 (February 2015)
Lowest 195 (December 1998)
Elo ranking
Current 126 Decrease 3 (30 August 2018)
Highest 107 (31 January 2015)
Lowest 187 (March 2003)
First international
 China PR 6–2 Equatorial Guinea 
(China; 23 May 1975)
Biggest win
 Equatorial Guinea 4–0 South Sudan 
(Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; 4 September 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Congo 6–0 Equatorial Guinea 
(Congo; 13 December 1990)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 2 (first in 2012)
Best result Fourth place, 2015

The Equatorial Guinea national football team, nicknamed Nzalang Nacional, is the national team of Equatorial Guinea and is controlled by the Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol. It is a member of Confederation of African Football (CAF). Though Equatorial Guinea has traditionally been one of the lowest ranked teams in Africa, the recent influx of Spanish-born players of Equatoguinean heritage has strengthened the national team and resulted in some solid performances. They qualified as co-hosts for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The hosting of the tournament lead to the construction of two new football stadia in the country: Estadio de Bata in Bata on the mainland, and Estadio de Malabo in Malabo. The national team managed a creditable fourth place at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, which was held in Equatorial Guinea.

History

Equatorial Guinea played its first match on 23 May 1975 against China in a friendly, losing 6−2. They did not play another game until entering the 1985 UDEAC Cup in December 1985. They were drawn in a group against the hosts Congo and Central African Republic. They lost 5−0 to the Congo on 9 December and then earned their first draw by drawing 1−1 against the Central African Republic on 14 December. On 16 December, they played a play-off for fifth place against Chad, and lost 3−2 on penalties after a 1−1 draw.[1]

Equatorial Guinea would come in fourth in the 1987 UDEAC Cup, losing on penalties in the third place match to Gabon, even though they only scored one goal throughout the tournament in a 1−1 draw against Chad. They also drew 0−0 against Cameroon. On their next attempt, they got sixth place after losing on penalties against the Central African Republic. The next time Equatorial Guinea played the Central African Republic, in 1999, they won, 4–2. It was Equatorial Guinea's first win.[1]

In the late 2000s, their Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol, along with the Fédération Gabonaise de Football, announced a bid to host the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, against bids from other African nations including Angola, Libya and Nigeria. Equatorial Guinea and Gabon won the right to host the games,[2] and two new stadiums were built in Equatorial Guinea: Estadio de Bata in Bata and Nuevo Estadio de Malabo in Malabo.[3]

The first game in the 2012 African Cup of Nations was Equatorial Guinea's first in a major international tournament, and resulted in a historic 1–0 win over Libya on 21 January 2012 in the opening game of the tournament. An 87th-minute strike from former Real Madrid winger Javier Balboa earned the victory.[4] In the next game, they secured the qualification for the quarter-finals by beating Senegal 2–1,[5] and finished second in their group after losing 0–1 to Zambia.[6] They progressed to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by the tournament's runners-up Ivory Coast after losing to The Elephants 3–0 thanks to goals from Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré.[7] Various national side players were praised due to their performances in the tournament, including Javier Balboa, Randy, Ben Konaté and Rui, the latter a part of the Team of the Tournament.[8]

Three years later, Equatorial Guinea organized solely the 2015 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, but on this occasion, it was to replace Morocco, which was the original host. In the opener, they drew 1–1 against Congo, with Emilio Nsue opening the scoring. In the second game, they managed to play out a 0–0 draw with Burkina Faso, the runners-up of the previous edition. With these two results, the Nzalang Nacional had to win against its classic rival Gabon in the third match in order to successfully qualify for the quarter-finals. Equatorial Guinea won 2–0 with goals from Javier Balboa (a penalty kick) and Ibán. As Group A's runner-up, the Equatoguinean national team then defeated Tunisia 2–1 with two goals from Balboa, the first being a penalty kick in the final moments of the regular time, and the second was in extra time. In the semi-final, however, they lost 0–3 to Ghana, and in the match for third place, drew 0–0 against DR Congo, ultimately losing 2–4 on penalties. The country finished the tournament in fourth place, being its best international participation to date and helping it reach a historical 49th position in the FIFA rankings.

Naturalised players controversy

In recent years, Equatorial Guinea has courted controversy by recruiting foreign players and giving them citizenship despite having little or no ties to the country. In 2009, South African journalist and FIFA archivist Mark Gleeson wrote that it was undermining the integrity of African football.[9]

In late 2005, and at the request of Ruslán Obiang Nsue, a son of President Teodoro Obiang, Brazilian coach Antônio Dumas recruited several Brazilian players to represent the Equatorial Guinea but the CAF and FIFA turned a blind eye, despite complaints from other nations.

In 2012, having lost the first leg of a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification round 4–0 to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea recruited nine Brazilian players to help overturn the deficit for the second leg. The team did manage to win the match 2–1, but it was not enough to overturn the aggregate and Equatorial Guinea were eliminated from the tournament. DR Congo head coach Claude Le Roy complained that the Equatorial Guinea were acting like the "United Nations of football".

Before the arrival of new coach Andoni Goikoetxea to Malabo, in March 2013, the Equatoguinean board made the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Cape Verde and again called-up nine Brazilian players.[10] In May 2013, they joined Colombian-born, Ecuadorian-based Jimmy Bermúdez, to who was going to pay him €3,000 for each match he plays.[11]

During the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, in the series played against Mauritania, the nation lost 1–0 away and won 3–0 in Malabo as hosts, sorting to the next round to face Uganda. However, the Mauritanian Football Federation demanded, before the CAF, for the inclusion of ineligible players to play with Nzalang Nacional (Some with passports and false names), resulting in the expulsion of the Equatorial Guinean team, based on the particular situation of Thierry Fidjeu, while the cases of the other players remained under investigation.

Home stadium

Nuevo Estadio de Malabo

Equatorial Guinea's home stadium is Nuevo Estadio de Malabo in Malabo. It can hold up to 15,250 people. Equatorial Guinea played there when they hosted the 2012 African Cup of Nations During their participation in the tournament, they played in this stadium against eventual winners Zambia and runners-up the Ivory Coast. During the national side's participation in the 2012 African Cup of Nations, they also played in the newly constructed Estadio de Bata, in which they played and won both their games in the stadium against Libya and Senegal.[3]

Kit and colors

Equatorial Guinea wears a red and white uniform. The kit manufacturer is Adidas. When they play in Equatorial Guinea, they wear a solid red jersey and matching shorts with white stripes. The number, FEGUIFUT logo, and Adidas logo are located on the chest. The socks are red with white at the top.[12] When Equatorial Guinea is away, they wear all white shirt with blue stripes.

Achievements

2006

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
France 1998		 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 5
Germany 2006 2 1 0 1 1 2
South Africa 2010 6 1 0 5 4 10
Brazil 2014 8 1 2 5 9 17
Russia 2018 2 1 0 1 1 2
Qatar 2022 To be determined To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total - 0/21 - - - - - - 20 4 2 14 17 36

Africa Cup of Nations record

Host nation(s) / Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Sudan 1957 to
Egypt 1986		Did not enter
Morocco 1988Withdrew
Algeria 1990Did not qualify
Senegal 1992Did not enter
Tunisia 1994Did not enter
South Africa 1996Withdrew
Burkina Faso 1998Did not enter
Ghana Nigeria 2000Did not enter
Mali 2002 to
Angola 2010		Did not qualify
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012Quarter-finals7th420235
South Africa 2013Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea 2015Fourth place4th623155
Gabon 2017Did not qualify
Cameroon 2019To be determined
Ivory Coast 2021To be determined
Guinea 2023To be determined

Results and future fixtures

2017

2018

2019

Players

Current squad

The following are some of the players who were selected for two 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier matches against Madagascar on 13 and 16 October 2018.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Caps and goals updated as of 8 September 2018 after the match against Madagascar. [25]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Felipe Ovono (1993-07-26) 26 July 1993 26 0 Ethiopia Mek'ele City
13 1GK Achille Pensy (1987-01-05) 5 January 1987 4 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Niefang
1GK Jesús Owono (2001-03-01) 1 March 2001 0 0 Spain Alavés Juvenil A
2 2DF Basilio Ndong (1999-01-17) 17 January 1999 8 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkupi
3 2DF Igor Engonga (1995-01-04) 4 January 1995 10 1 Spain Almería B
4 2DF Rui (1985-05-28) 28 May 1985 29 1 Spain Villarrubia
5 2DF Diosdado Mbele (1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 18 0 Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos
7 2DF Rubén Belima (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 12 0 Slovenia Domžale
8 2DF Randy (1987-06-02) 2 June 1987 35 4 Greece Trikala
2DF Carlos Akapo (1993-03-12) 12 March 1993 12 1 Spain Huesca
2DF Mariano Ondo (1999-06-29) 29 June 1999 4 0 Unattached
2DF Federico Obama (2000-02-04) 4 February 2000 0 0 Spain Atlético Madrid Juvenil A
9 3MF Nico Kata (1993-01-15) 15 January 1993 4 0 Spain San Sebastián de los Reyes
10 3MF Pepín (1996-08-14) 14 August 1996 6 0 Italy Pescara
12 3MF Santiago Eneme (2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 4 0 France Nantes U19
15 3MF Pablo Ganet (1994-11-04) 4 November 1994 9 0 Spain San Roque de Lepe
18 3MF Federico Bikoro (1996-03-17) 17 March 1996 12 1 Spain Teruel
6 4FW Iban Salvador (1995-12-11) 11 December 1995 15 2 Spain Celta B
11 4FW Josete Miranda (1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 10 1 Spain Getafe B
14 4FW Kike Boula (1993-07-17) 17 July 1993 19 0 Greece Xanthi
16 4FW Gorka Luariz (1992-12-20) 20 December 1992 1 0 Spain Leioa
17 4FW Salomón Obama (2000-02-04) 4 February 2000 2 0 Spain Atlético Madrid B
4FW Emilio Nsue (captain) (1989-09-30) 30 September 1989 16 6 Cyprus APOEL
4FW Amor (2000-02-14) 14 February 2000 3 1 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Delfín Ross (1995-02-22) 22 February 1995 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Sony de Elá Nguema v.  Kenya, 28 May 2018
GK Cambio (1998-07-08) 8 July 1998 3 0 Equatorial Guinea Fundación Bata 2018 African Nations Championship
GK Nasty (1999-08-17) 17 August 1999 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport 2018 African Nations Championship
DF Cosme (1990-03-03) 3 March 1990 5 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Unidad v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018
DF Esteban Obiang (1998-05-07) 7 May 1998 1 0 Spain Betis B v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018
DF Charly (1990-02-18) 18 February 1990 0 0 Spain Mora v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018
DF Saúl Coco (1999-02-09) 9 February 1999 1 0 Spain Horta v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018 PRE
DF José Riaco (1991-11-26) 26 November 1991 0 0 Spain Parla v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018 PRE
DF Luis Enrique Nsue (1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 0 0 Spain Atlético Puertollano v.  Kenya, 28 May 2018
DF Miguel Ángel Mayé (1990-12-08) 8 December 1990 3 0 Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos 2018 African Nations Championship
DF Ernesto Montero (1998-04-17) 17 April 1998 2 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Unidad 2018 African Nations Championship
DF Hechos (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos 2018 African Nations Championship
DF Paulino (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 2 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Unidad 2018 African Nations Championship
DF Cristian (1990-07-27) 27 July 1990 3 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Niefang 2018 African Nations Championship
DF Ramón Akapo (1990-11-21) 21 November 1990 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Atlético Semu 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Valeriano Nchama (1995-06-18) 18 June 1995 4 0 Italy Montebelluna v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018
MF Benjamín Edú (1999-03-13) 13 March 1999 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport v.  Kenya, 28 May 2018
MF Salvador Eworo (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 3 0 Spain Cieza B 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Pío (1998-09-15) 15 September 1998 2 0 Spain Cieza B 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Zairy (1993-09-21) 21 September 1993 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Recreativo Lampert 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Joaquín Verrati (1996-02-21) 21 February 1996 2 0 Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Pipiya (1988-06-01) 1 June 1988 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Racing de Micomeseng 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Julio Mancini (1992-09-25) 25 September 1992 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Sony de Elá Nguema 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Reginaldo Dalin (1999-03-20) 20 March 1999 1 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport 2018 African Nations Championship
MF Rubio (2000-06-16) 16 June 2000 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport 2018 African Nations ChampionshipPRE
MF Eddy (1994-05-05) 5 May 1994 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Niefang 2018 African Nations ChampionshipPRE
MF René (1998-03-09) 9 March 1998 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Niefang 2018 African Nations ChampionshipPRE
FW Pedro Oba (1996-05-18) 18 May 1996 3 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Niefang v.  Sudan, 8 September 2018
FW Bello (1984-05-10) 10 May 1984 4 0 Equatorial Guinea Atlético Semu 2018 African Nations Championship

Notes:

  • (RET) Retired from the national team
  • (INJ) Injured
  • (REJ) Rejected the call up

Coaches

References

  1. 1 2 "Equatorial Guinea - List of International Matches". rsssf.com. RSSSF. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Angola to host 2010 Nations Cup". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
  3. 1 2 "Nuevo Estadio de Malabo". stadiumguide.com. The Stadium Guide. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Balboa dá vitória à Guiné Equatorial" [Balboa gives the victory to Equatorial Guinea]. abola.pt. A Bola. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea in quarters as Senegal crash out". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia book quarter-final slot". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "Ivory Coast 3−0 Equatorial Guinea". espn.com. ESPN. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "Orange CAN 2012 Best XI". cafonline.com. Confédération Africaine de Football. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "African football's integrity is undermined, by Mark Gleeson". WorldSoccer.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Volante Neto é convocado pela Seleção de Guiné Equatorial" [Midfielder Neto is called for the national team of Equatorial Guinea] (in Portuguese). Barretos Esporte Clube. 10 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2013-06-17. (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ "Equatorial Guinea ANC Puma Home Shirt 2012". Football Shirts. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Jesús Owono, convocado con la Selección absoluta de Guinea Ecuatorial" (in Spanish). Alavés. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "Cuatro internacionales para la SD Huesca" (in Spanish). Huesca. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  15. ↑ "Igor Engonga y Lin, del filial, son convocados por las selecciones de sus respectivos países" (in Spanish). Almería. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Vrasídas Ráptis (25 September 2018). "Στην Εθνική ο Ράντι" (in Greek). Footballleague News. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Στην Εθνική Ισημερινής Γουινέας ο Κίκε" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  18. ↑ "Riki e Iban Salvador, convocados con Venezuela y Guinea Ecuatorial" (in Spanish). RC Celta. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ @SanRoqueLepe (8 October 2018). "COMUNICADO OFICIAL | Pablo Ganet vuelve a ser convocado con Guinea Ecuatorial para medirse dos veces ante Madagascar en la clasificación para la copa africana de naciones ¡Suerte y buen viaje!" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 October 2018 – via Twitter.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ @apoelfcofficial (8 October 2018). "Από τις προπονήσεις της ομάδας μας, τις επόμενες μέρες θα λείπουν οι Αρτυματάς, Ιωάννου, Μερκής, Κατσαντώνης, Tamari, Nsue και Romo λόγω υποχρεώσεων τους με τα αντιπροσωπευτικά τους συγκροτήματα" (Tweet) (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2018 – via Twitter.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ "Gorka Luariz, convocado con Guinea Ecuatorial" (in Spanish). S.D. Leioa. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  25. ↑ "Kenya vs Equatorial Guinea 1 - 0 | FIFA Friendlies | 2018 | May | World Football". www.worldfootball.com. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
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