Equatorial Guinea

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Lore & Background

Equatorial Guinea played its first match on 23 May 1975 against China in a friendly, losing 6–2. They did not play another international game until 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 (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. 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 tasted their first ever win, 4–2.

Reader's Guide

In the late 2000s, the FEGUIFUT, along with the Gabonese Federation, announced a bid to host the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, against other African nations' bids, including Angola, Libya and Nigeria. Equatorial Guinea and Gabon won the right to host the games, and two new stadiums were built in Equatorial Guinea: Estadio de Bata in Bata and Estadio de Malabo in Malabo. The opening game of the 2012 African Cup of Nations was also Equatorial Guinea's first participation in a major international tournament, and resulted in a historic 1–0 win over Libya on 21 January 2012. An 87th-minute strike from former Real Madrid winger Javier Balboa earned the victory. In the next game, they secured the qualification for the quarter-finals by beating Senegal 2–1, and finished second in their group after losing 0–1 to Zambia. They progressed to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by the tournament's runners-up Ivory Coast, losing 3–0 with goals from Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré. 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. Three years after that Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea organized solely the 2015 edition, but this time, to replace Morocco, the original host. In the opener, they drew 1–1 against Congo, with Emilio Nsue scoring first. 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.

Did You Know?

• Equatorial Guinea's first ever international win was a 4–2 victory against the Central African Republic in 1999.
• The team's first participation in a major tournament was the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, which they co-hosted with Gabon.
• Javier Balboa, a former Real Madrid winger, scored the winning goal in Equatorial Guinea's first ever Africa Cup of Nations match, a 1–0 victory over Libya in 2012.
• Equatorial Guinea finished fourth in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, their best ever performance in the tournament.
• In the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea defeated the defending champions Algeria in the group stage.

A Singular Geographic and Linguistic Identity

Equatorial Guinea's home stadium is Estadio de Malabo in the same name city. It can hold up to 15,250 people. Equatorial Guinea played there when they hosted the Afcon 2012 and they played against eventual winners Zambia and runners-up, the Ivory Coast. They also played in the newly constructed Estadio de Bata, where they won both their games against Libya and Senegal.

From Portuguese Discovery to a Contested Independence

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. When Equatorial Guinea is away, they wear all white shirt with blue stripes.

The Oil Windfall and Its Uneven Rewards

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. 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. 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. In May 2013, they joined Colombian-born, Equatorian-based Jimmy Bermúdez, who was going to be paid €3,000 for each match he played. During the 2015 qualifiers, in the games 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. However, they were reinstated after Morocco withdrew from hosting due to Ebola outbreak. Emilio Nsue, who played for Spanish youth national teams from 2005 to 2011, played two matches of Equatorial Guinea in 2013. A few months later, FIFA declared him ineligible for that match and for the return fixture, awarding both games to Cape Verde by a 3–0 scoreline. Nsue did not gain Equatoguinean nationality until after playing official matches for Spain and the Equatoguinean Football Federation did not ask FIFA for permission to switch allegiances. Nsue continued to play for Equatorial Guinea despite FIFA declaring his ineligibility, including the 2015, 2021, and 2023 editions of the African Cup of Nations. In June 2024, FIFA judges ruled that Nsue was never eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea throughout his entire career. He had allegedly use a fraudulent Equatoguinean passport in which it is stated that he was born in Malabo, instead of Palma de Mallorca. In 2025, he was admitted to change nations.

Authoritarian Rule and the Struggle for Rights

Equatorial Guinea failed to qualify for 2017 and 2019 editions of the African Cup of Nations. Likewise, the team had also didn't qualify for the 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. 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. 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. After beating Tanzania 1–0 on home soil, Equatorial Guinea managed a historic feat, a 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. 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. 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 saved two of the shots. This meant that the national team qualified for the quarter finals of AFCON for the third time in their history and the first one advancing from the round of 16. They subsequently lost to eventual champions Senegal, 3–1.