Equatorial Guinea national football team

The Equatorial Guinea national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Guinea Ecuatorial) represents Equatorial Guinea in men's international football and is controlled by the Equatoguinean Football Federation, a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Equatorial Guinea women's national football team.

Equatorial Guinea
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder)
Los Elefantes (The Elephants)
AssociationFederación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationUNIFFAC
(Central Africa)
Head coachJuan Micha
CaptainEmilio Nsue
Most capsFederico Bikoro (43)
Top scorerEmilio Nsue (15)
Home stadiumEstadio de Malabo
FIFA codeEQG
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 92 Decrease 1 (21 September 2023)[1]
Highest49 (February 2015)
Lowest195 (December 1998)
First international
 China 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
Appearances4 (first in 2012)
Best resultFourth place (2015)

The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations on four occasions, the first two times as hosts (in 2012 and 2015). They reached finished in fourth place in 2015, and reached the quarter-finals in 2012 and 2021.

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.[2]

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.[2]

In the late 2000s, the Equatoguinean Football Federation, along with the Gabonese Football Federation, 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,[3] and two new stadiums were built in Equatorial Guinea: Estadio de Bata in Bata and Estadio de Malabo in Malabo.[4]

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.[5] In the next game, they secured the qualification for the quarter-finals by beating Senegal 2–1,[6] and finished second in their group after losing 0–1 to Zambia.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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 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.

AFCON 2022

Equatorial Guinea continued to fail in every qualification in AFCON as the team did not qualify for 2017 and 2019 editions. Likewise, the team had also failed to qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup. During the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, they were grouped in group J along with powerhouse Tunisia, 2019 AFCON participant Tanzania and North African bedfellow Libya. The Nzalang Nacional performed poorly in their first two games, losing both with one goal margin to Tanzania away and Tunisia at home, and it appeared that Equatorial Guinea would just end up failing as usual as the team had never qualified throughout regular qualification outside hosting the competition twice.[10][11]

However, the COVID-19 pandemic led all AFCON qualification suspended until late 2020, when it resumed as Equatorial Guinea faced up against a rising spirit Libyan side that aimed to qualify for the first time since 2012. Despite this, Equatorial Guinea produced an outstanding comeback against Libya in Egypt, beating Libya 3–2 with two late goals by Pedro Obiang and Salomón Obama from being led 1–2 until injury times.[12] The Nzalang Nacional later hosted the same opponent at home, and like their game in Cairo, the Equatorial Guineans won again, 1–0, by virtual goal from Iban Salvador.[13] After beating Tanzania 1–0 on home soil, Equatorial Guinea managed a historic feat throughout regular qualification for the first time ever in its history.

During AFCON 2021, the National Thunder were drawn in group E, alongside Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Algeria. Equatorial Guinea lost their opening match against Ivory Coast, but produced one of the tournament's surprised when they defeated trophy holders Algeria in their second match.[14] In their final match of the group, they defeated Sierra Leone and qualified for the round of 16, coming in second in the group, after Ivory Coast.[15]

In the round of 16, Equatorial Guinea was drawn against Mali, the winners of group F. The game ended in a goalless draw after 120 minutes and went to deciding penalties, where the Nzalang Nacional won the shoot-out 6–5 thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Jesús Owono, who managed to save two of the shots. The result meant that the national team qualified for the quarter finals of AFCON for the third time in their history (the first one advancing from the round of 16). They subsequently lost to eventual champions Senegal, 3-1.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19]

During the qualifiers, in the series played against Mauritania, the Nzalang Nacional lost 1–0 away and won 3–0 in Malabo, qualifying to the next round to face Uganda. However, the Mauritanian Football Federation Submitted a complaint to CAF about the inclusion of ineligible players by Equatorial Guinea (Some with fake 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
Further information: Estadio de Malabo
Estadio de Malabo

Equatorial Guinea's home stadium is 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.[4]

Kit and colours

Equatorial Guinea wears a red and white uniform. The kit manufacturer is Erreà. When they play in Equatorial Guinea, they wear a solid red jersey and matching shorts with white stripes. The number, FEGUIFUT logo, and Erreà logo are located on the chest. The socks are red with white at the top.[20] When Equatorial Guinea is away, they wear all white shirt with blue stripes.

Results and fixtures
Main article: Equatorial Guinea national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023
24 March 2023 AFCON qualification Equatorial Guinea  2–0  Botswana Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
20:00 UTC+1
  • Coco 20'
  • Bikoro 66'
 Report Stadium: Estadio de Malabo
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)
28 March 2023 AFCON qualification Botswana  2–3  Equatorial Guinea Francistown, Botswana
15:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Francistown Stadium
Referee: Mohamed Diraneh Guedi (Djibouti)
17 June 2023 AFCON qualification Equatorial Guinea  1–0  Tunisia Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
16:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Estadio de Malabo
Referee: Ibrahim Kalilou Traore (Ivory Coast)
6 September 2023 AFCON qualification Libya  1–1  Equatorial Guinea Benina, Libya
21:00 UTC+2
  • Taqtaq 80'
 Report
  • Elo 62'
 Stadium: Martyrs of February Stadium
Referee: Mahamat Alhadj Allaou (Chad)
Assistant referees: Issa Yaya (Chad)
Assistant referees: Bogola Issa (Chad)
Fourth official: Alfred Armi Pousri (Chad)
13 October Friendly Equatorial Guinea  0–0  Burkina Faso Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Report Stadium: Estadio de Malabo
November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Equatorial Guinea  v  Namibia
November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Liberia  v  Equatorial Guinea

Coaching history
Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Coaches of local-based national team
  • Equatorial Guinea Rodolfo Bodipo (2017–2018)
  • Equatorial Guinea Antonio Pancho (2019)
  • Equatorial Guinea Felipe Esono (2019–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for a friendly match against Burkina Faso on 13 October 2023.[21]

Caps and goals updated as of 13 October 2023 after the match against Burkina Faso.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Jesús Owono (2001-03-01) 1 March 2001 22 0 Spain Deportivo Alavés
13 1GK Manuel Sapunga (1992-11-23) 23 November 1992 1 0 South Africa Polokwane City
2 2DF Néstor Senra (2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 5 0 Spain Avilés
3 2DF Charles Ondo (2003-10-22) 22 October 2003 2 0 England Huddersfield Town B
5 2DF Luis Enrique Nsue (1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 8 0 Moldova Bălți
11 2DF Basilio Ndong (1999-01-17) 17 January 1999 39 0 Romania Universitatea Craiova
14 2DF José Elo (2000-10-21) 21 October 2000 3 1 Spain Mérida
15 2DF Carlos Akapo (captain) (1993-03-12) 12 March 1993 30 1 United States San Jose Earthquakes
16 2DF Saúl Coco (1999-02-09) 9 February 1999 17 3 Spain Las Palmas
21 2DF Esteban Obiang (1998-05-07) 7 May 1998 22 1 Free agent
4 3MF Federico Bikoro (1996-03-17) 17 March 1996 44 6 Tunisia Club Africain
6 3MF Álex Balboa (2001-03-06) 6 March 2001 10 0 Spain Huesca
7 3MF José Machín (1996-08-14) 14 August 1996 21 0 Italy Monza
8 3MF Pedro Obiang (1992-03-27) 27 March 1992 15 3 Italy Sassuolo
17 3MF Josete Miranda (1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 38 2 Greece Niki Volos
20 3MF Santiago Eneme (2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 18 0 Czech Republic MFK Vyškov
22 3MF Pablo Ganet (1994-11-04) 4 November 1994 37 4 Spain Alcoyano
24 3MF Basilio Rieno (2004-11-16) 16 November 2004 0 0 England Burnley U21
9 4FW Noé Ela (2003-04-17) 17 April 2003 2 0 Spain Numancia
10 4FW Emilio Nsue (1989-09-30) 30 September 1989 37 15 Spain Intercity
19 4FW Luis Nlavo (2001-07-09) 9 July 2001 14 2 Portugal Braga B

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 Aitor Embela (1996-04-17) 17 April 1996 9 0 Spain Soneja v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
DF Cosme Anvene (1990-03-03) 3 March 1990 15 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
DF Marvin Anieboh (1997-08-26) 26 August 1997 10 0 Spain Illescas v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
DF Luis Meseguer (1999-09-07) 7 September 1999 14 1 Spain Unión Adarve v.  Tunisia, 17 June 2023
DF Miguel Ángel Mayé (1995-12-08) 8 December 1995 14 0 v.  Botswana, 28 March 2023
MF Rubén Belima (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 30 0 Spain Torrellano v.  Burkina Faso, 12 October 2023 WD
MF Iban Salvador (1995-12-11) 11 December 1995 36 5 Poland Miedź Legnica v.  Burkina Faso, 12 October 2023 INJ
MF Jannick Buyla (1998-10-06) 6 October 1998 17 1 Free agent v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
MF Jesús Mansogo (2001-08-16) 16 August 2001 5 0 Morocco TAS Casablanca v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
MF Javier Mum (2001-01-24) 24 January 2001 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
MF Mansueto Nguema (1997-04-17) 17 April 1997 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Cano Sport v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
MF Rafael Nsogo (2001-08-03) 3 August 2001 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos v.  Tunisia, 17 June 2023
MF Joanet (1999-03-01) 1 March 1999 8 0 Andorra Inter d'Escaldes v.  Botswana, 28 March 2023
MF Gael (2003-12-21) 21 December 2003 3 0 Spain Albacete B v.  Botswana, 28 March 2023
FW Dorian Jr. (2001-05-12) 12 May 2001 11 0 Spain Cultural Leonesa v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
FW Aitor Lorá (1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 1 0 Spain Náxara v.  Libya, 6 September 2023
FW Óscar Siafá (1997-09-12) 12 September 1997 13 0 Italy Alessandria v.  Tunisia, 17 June 2023
FW Fede Nguema (1997-04-20) 20 April 1997 2 0 Moldova Bălți v.  Tunisia, 17 June 2023
FW Pedro Martín Ela (2004-06-04) 4 June 2004 0 0 Equatorial Guinea 15 de Agosto v.  Tunisia, 17 June 2023
FW Adrián Garrido (2001-11-18) 18 November 2001 1 0 Spain Andratx v.  Botswana, 28 March 2023

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Previous squads

Records
As of 28 March 2023[22]
Players in bold are still active with Equatorial Guinea.

Most appearances
Federico Bikoro is Equatorial Guinea's most capped player with 42 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Federico Bikoro 42 6 2013–present
2 Felipe Ovono 41 0 2011–present
Iván Zarandona 41 1 2003–2017
4 Juvenal Edjogo-Owono 40 9 2003–2015
5 Iban Iyanga 39 4 2010–2018
6 Rui da Gracia 37 1 2010–present
7 Basilio Ndong 36 0 2016–present
Emilio Nsue 36 14 2015–present
9 Pablo Ganet 35 4 2015–present
Josete Miranda 35 2 2015–present

Top goalscorers
Emilio Nsue is Equatorial Guinea's top scorer with 14 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Emilio Nsue 14 36 0.39 2013–present
2 Juvenal Edjogo-Owono 9 40 0.23 2003–2015
3 Javier Balboa 6 32 0.19 2007–2017
Federico Bikoro 6 42 0.14 2013–present
5 Iban Edú 5 34 0.15 2015–present
6 Pedro Oba 4 12 0.33 2017–present
Pablo Ganet 4 35 0.11 2015–present
Iban Iyanga 4 38 0.11 2010–2018
9 Juan Epitié 3 12 0.25 2003–2012
Rodolfo Bodipo 3 13 0.23 2003–2008
Pedro Obiang 3 13 0.23 2018–present
Saúl Coco 3 16 0.19 2017–present

Competition records

FIFA World Cup
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
England 1966		 Part of  Spain Part of  Spain
Mexico 1970 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 8 4 3 1 8 6
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total – 0/22 – – – – – – 28 8 5 15 25 42

Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 to Ethiopia 1968Part of  Spain
Sudan 1970 to Egypt 1986Not affiliated to CAF
Morocco 1988Withdrew
Algeria 1990Did not qualify
Senegal 1992 to Tunisia 1994Did not enter
South Africa 1996Withdrew
Burkina Faso 1998 to Ghana Nigeria 2000Did not enter
Mali 2002 to Angola 2010Did not qualify
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012Quarter-finals7th420235
South Africa 2013Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea 2015Fourth place4th623155
Gabon 2017 to Egypt 2019Did not qualify
Cameroon 2021Quarter-finals7th521234
Ivory Coast 2023Qualified
Guinea 2025To be determined
TotalFourth place4/34156451114

African Nations Championship
African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 1
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009Did not enter
Sudan 2011
South Africa 2014Did not qualify
Rwanda 2016
Morocco 2018Group stage15th300317
Cameroon 2020Did not qualify
Algeria 2022
Total Group stage 1/7 3 0 0 3 1 7

Honours
2006

Notes

    References
    1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
    2. "Equatorial Guinea - List of International Matches". RSSSF. 5 June 2006. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
    3. "Angola to host 2010 Nations Cup". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 4 September 2006. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
    4. "Nuevo Estadio de Malabo". stadiumguide.com. The Stadium Guide. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
    5. "Balboa dá vitória à Guiné Equatorial" [Balboa gives the victory to Equatorial Guinea]. abola.pt. A Bola. 21 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
    6. "Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea in quarters as Senegal crash out". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
    7. "Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia book quarter-final slot". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
    8. "Ivory Coast 3−0 Equatorial Guinea". espn.com. ESPN. 4 February 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
    9. "Orange CAN 2012 Best XI". cafonline.com. Confédération Africaine de Football. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
    10. "Afcon 2021 Qualifiers: Tanzania didn't collapse against Equatorial Guinea - Ndayiragije | Goal.com". Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    11. "Cara y cruz para Alavedra y Ganet". 19 November 2019. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    12. "Equatorial Guinea leaves it late to beat Libya in Cairo | CAFOnline.com". Archived from the original on 13 November 2020.
    13. "Libya loses 1-0 to Equatorial Guinea | The Libya Observer". Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    14. Stevens, Rob (16 January 2022). "Equatorial Guinea stun holders Algeria". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
    15. Stevens, Rob (20 January 2022). "Equatoguineans through as Sierra Leone out". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
    16. "Equatorial Guinea shock Mali on penalties". BBC Sport. 26 January 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
    17. "African football's integrity is undermined, by Mark Gleeson". WorldSoccer.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
    18. "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.
    19. "Bermúdez es convocado a la Selección de Guinea Ecuatorial : Diario Centinela" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
    20. "Equatorial Guinea ANC Puma Home Shirt 2012". Football Shirts. 22 January 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
    21. "25 man squad". Kick 442. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
    22. Mamrud, Roberto. "Equatorial Guinea - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
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