Equatorial Guinea national football team

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Equatorial Guinea
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Nzalang Nacional
Association Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol
Sub-confederation UNIFFAC
(Central Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Spain Andoni Goikoetxea
Captain Emilio Nsue
Home stadium Nuevo Estadio de Malabo
FIFA code EQG
FIFA ranking 61
Highest FIFA ranking 59 (April 2013)
Lowest FIFA ranking 195 (December 1998)
Elo ranking 127
Highest Elo ranking 127 (26 March 2013)
Lowest Elo ranking 187 (March 2003)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 China PR 6–2 Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea
(China; 23 May 1975)
Biggest win
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea 3–0 CAR 
(Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; 7 September 2011)
Biggest defeat
 Congo 6–0 Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea
(Congo; 13 December 1990)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 1 (First in 2012)
Best result Quarter-finals; 2012

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 having 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.

Contents

History [edit]

Equatorial Guinea played its first match on 23 May 1975 against China in a friendly and lost 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 earnt 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 tie against Chad. They also tied 0−0 against Cameroon. On their next try, they got sixth place after losing on penalties against Central African Replublic. The next time Equatorial Guinea played Central African Republic, in 1999, they won, 4–2. It was Equatorial Guinea's first win.[1]

In the late 2000s, their football federation 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 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 qualification to 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 were 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 there performances in the tournament among these players were Javier Balboa, Randy, Ben Konaté and Rui, the latter was part of the Team of the tournament.[8]

Naturalised players controversy [edit]

For more details on this topic, see List of naturalised Equatoguinean international football players.

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 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. Democratic Republic of the Congo head coach Claude Le Roy complained that 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 called nine Brazilian players again.[10]

Home stadium [edit]

Further information: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo
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 there 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 there games in the stadium against Libya and Senegal.[3]

Kit and colors [edit]

Equatorial Guinea wears a red and white uniform. The kit manufacturer is Hummel. When they play in Equatorial Guinea, they wear a solid red jersey and matching shorts with a white stripe around both sleeves and two white stripes from the hip down. The number, FEGIFUT logo, and Hummel logo are located on the chest. The socks are red with white at the top.[11] When Equatorial Guinea is away, they wear the opposite; all white shirt with red stripes.

Achievements [edit]

2006

World Cup record [edit]

Africa Cup of Nations record [edit]

  • 2002 to 2010 − Did not qualify
  • 2012 − Quarter-finals
  • 2013 − Did not qualify

Schedule [edit]

Recent Results [edit]

Upcoming Fixtures [edit]

Players [edit]

Current squad [edit]

The following are some of the players called for two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Cape Verde and Tunisia.[12]

Match Date: 8 June 2013
Opposition:  Cape Verde
Caps and goals are correct as of 24 March 2012. Note: Caps and goals may be incomplete for certain players, therefore being inaccurate.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
2 2DF Carlos Akapo (1993-03-12) 12 March 1993 (age 20) 0 0 Spain Huracán Valencia
3 2DF Kily (1984-02-05) 5 February 1984 (age 29) 16 1 Spain Langreo
19 2DF Sipo (1988-04-21) 21 April 1988 (age 25) 12 0 Spain Osasuna B
2DF Eloy (1985-03-16) 16 March 1985 (age 28) 0 0 Spain Collado Villalba
2DF Rincón (1980-03-15) 15 March 1980 (age 33) 2 1 Brazil Avenida
6 3MF Juvenal (1979-04-03) 3 April 1979 (age 34) 22 5 Spain CE Sabadell
3MF Baruc (1984-11-02) 2 November 1984 (age 28) 0 0 Spain Manlleu
8 4FW Randy (1987-06-02) 2 June 1987 (age 25) 15 4 Spain Atlético Ceuta
9 4FW Rodolfo Bodipo (1977-10-25) 25 October 1977 (age 35) 11 4 Spain Xerez
10 4FW Emilio Nsue (captain) (1989-09-30) 30 September 1989 (age 23) 1 3 Spain Mallorca
11 4FW Javier Balboa (1985-05-13) 13 May 1985 (age 28) 14 1 Portugal Beira-Mar

Recent callups [edit]

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Felipe Ovono (1993-07-26) 26 July 1993 (age 19) 6 0 Equatorial Guinea Sony de Elá Nguema v.  Cape Verde, 24 March 2013
GK Carlos Mosibe (1991-03-12) 12 March 1991 (age 22) 0 0 Equatorial Guinea Atlético Malabo v.  Congo DR, 9 September 2012
MF Iván Zarandona (1980-08-30) 30 August 1980 (age 32) 18 0 Spain Noja v.  Congo DR, 14 October 2012
MF Ehoma (1991-01-18) 18 January 1991 (age 22) 0 0 Spain Las Palmas C v.  Congo DR, 9 September 2012
MF Omar Mascarell (1993-02-02) 2 February 1993 (age 20) 0 0 Spain Real Madrid C v.  Sierra Leone, 9 June 2012
FW Raúl Fabiani (1984-02-23) 23 February 1984 (age 29) 3 0 Spain Huracán Valencia v.  Congo DR, 9 September 2012
FW Alberto (1984-04-21) 21 April 1984 (age 29) 7 ? Spain Vista Alegre v.  Sierra Leone, 9 June 2012
FW David Mitogo (1990-05-18) 18 May 1990 (age 23) 3 0 Spain Teruel v.  Sierra Leone, 9 June 2012
FW Rubén Epitié (1983-05-19) 19 May 1983 (age 30) 5 0 Spain Europa v.  Sierra Leone, 9 June 2012

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "Equatorial Guinea - List of International Mathces". 5 June 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  2. ^ "Angola to host 2010 Nations Cup". BBC Sport. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2006. 
  3. ^ a b "Nuevo Estadio de Malabo". Stadium Guide. Retrieved January 31, 2012. 
  4. ^ "Balboa dá vitória à Guiné Equatorial" [Balboa gives the victory to Equatorial Guinea]. A Bola (abola.pt). 21 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012. 
  5. ^ BBC Sport – Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea in quarters as Senegal crash out 25 January 2012. Accessed 1 February 2011
  6. ^ BBC Sport – Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia book quarter-final slot 29 January 2012. Accessed 1 February 2011
  7. ^ Ivory Coast 3 - 0 Equatorial Guinea 4 February 2012. Accessed 14 February 2011
  8. ^ Orange CAN 2012 Best XI 12 February 2012. Accessed 14 February 2011
  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. Retrieved 11 March 2013. 
  11. ^ "Equatorial Guinea ANC Puma Home Shirt 2012". Football Shirts. Retrieved January 31, 2012. 
  12. ^ [1] (Spanish)

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1 Associate member of CAF but not member of FIFA
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