November 15, 2023
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup began today in Africa, and the first match featured two sides who have never qualified for the World Cup Finals.
Nine groups of six teams have been drawn, with the winners of each group qualifying for the finals. The four best ranked runners up go into play-offs to determine the one side which will go forward to the intercontinental play-offs.
Equatorial Guinea and Namibia have been drawn in Group H, along with Tunisia, Malawi, Liberia and Sao Tome and Principe.
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, which unusually for the continent is a former Spanish colony, and is the only African country where Spanish is an official language. It achieved independence from Spain in 1968.
Equatorial Guinea consists of two regions. The Insular Region consists of two islands, Bioko ( formerly known as Fernando Po ) and Annobon ( the only part of the country south of the equator ), and the capital Malabo is on Bioko. The M3ainland, which also includes several small islands, is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the east and south. The country’s largest city, Bata is on the mainland.
The population of the country is estimated at around 1.5 million and the country’s wealth comes from being one of Africa’s largest producers of oil. Equatorial Guinea is reportedly is the richest country per capita in Africa, although the wealth is very unevenly distributed. President Teodoro Obiang, who took over following a coup d’etat against his uncle in 1979, is regularly described by Human Rights organizations as one of the most brutal dictators in Africa.
The most famous sportsman from Equatorial Guinea is probably swimmers Eric The Eel, after his “Eddie The Eagle” style efforts in the 2000 Olympics.
Equatorial Guinea National Team
The national team is currently 91st in the FIFA rankings, having achieved an all time high of 49th in 2015.
They co-hosted the Africa Cup of Nations with Gabon in 2012 and then on their own in 2015 after the tournament was moved from original host Morocco. In 2012 they reached the quarter finals before being knocked out 0-3 by Ivory Coast, for whom Didier Drogba ( x2 ) and Yawa Toure were the goal-scorers.
They went one better in 2015, reaching the semi-final before losing 0-3 to Ghana, for whom Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew and ex-Swansea City and West Ham United forward Andre Ayew were amongst the goals. Equatorial Guinea had beaten traditional rivals Gabon 2-0 to take second place in their group, and got past Tunisia 2-1 in extra time in the quarter final
Equatorial Guinea qualified for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations by coming second in a group containing Tunisia, Botswana and Libya, winning all their home games but losing in Tunisia and drawing in Libya. The finals are to be played in Ivory Coast in January 2024, where they are in a tough looking group with the hosts, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau.
Equatorial Guinea have run in to troubles in recent years with the selection of a number of Brazilians, some of whom were not qualified to represent the country. After being disqualified from qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, this appears to be a thing of the past.
Two players from Equatorial Guinea have played in the English Premier League. Midfielder Pedro Obiang ( 15 caps ) played four seasons with West Ham United before transferring to Sassuolo in 2019. Striker Emilio Nsue ( 34 caps ) played for Middlesborough, as well as Birmingham City, Mallorca and Real Sociedad. Both were born in Spain and were Spanish youth internationals before opting to represent Equatorial Guinea. Nsue is the current captain of the team ( and a dead-ringer for Oxford City’s Josh Parker ! ), and although Obiang played in the last friendly, a 0-0 home draw with Burkina Faso in October, he wasn’t in the squad for today’s game.
None of their players involved today play their football in their own country, and a handful were playing at the highest levels in European leagues. Midfielder Jose Machin ( 21 caps ) was with Monza in Serie A, keeper Jesus Owono ( Alaves – 22 caps ) and centre-back Saul Coco ( Las Palmas – 17 caps ) were regulars in La Liga, whilst midfielder Iban Salvador ( Miedz Legnica – 36 caps ) and wing-back Basilo Ndong ( Universitatea Craiova – 39 caps ) were playing in the top divisions in Poland and Romania.
Full-back Carlos Akapo ( 30 caps ) was playing in the USA with San Jose Earthquakes and midfielder Frederico Bikoro ( 44 caps ) plays for Tunisian giants Club Africain, whilst the rest plied their trades in the lower divisions in Spain, Greece, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Equatorial Guinea National League
It is not easy to find information of the domestic league in Equatorial Guinea, with no details in the usual sources such as World Net Football, Sofascore, Soccerway or Flashscore, and Wikipedia is hopelessly out of date. The Liga Nacional de Futbol consists of 20 teams split into two leagues of 10, one representing the mainland and the other the Insular region.
I couldn’t find any details on the 2022/23 or 2023/23 seasons, but Bata based Dragon FC were Equatorial Guinea’s representative in the 2023/24 CAF Champions League, being the 2022/23 champions. Dragon FC lost in the first round to Malawi side Nyasa Big Bullets 0-3 on aggregate after losing the first leg 0-2 in Malabo.
Deportivo Mongomo, from the mainland town of Mongomo on the eastern border with Gabon, were the 2022/23 CAF Champions League entrant and they were also eliminated in the first round. After winning the home leg 2-0 against Mali side Djoliba, they crashed out with a 0-5 defeat in Bamako.
Namibia
Namibia was previously known as South-West Africa and was formerly a German colony. At the end of the Second World War the League of Nations mandated the country was administered by South Africa, until independence was finally granted in 1980.
It is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, and also the most sparsely populated. With a western border of the Atlantic Ocean, it shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north and South Africa to the east and south.
The population of Namibia is a shade under 3 million people, and there are 13 official languages, one of which is German, although English is the one emphasized. Mining and tourism are the main industries in the country.
Namibia has achieved considerable recognition on a world stage for its Rugby and Cricket, with sides mainly dominated with “white” players. However, only 8% of the population are classified as “white” in Namibia, reflecting the elite status of these sports in the country. In comparison there were no “non-white” players taking the field for Namibia in today’s game, reflecting football as the most popular sport in the country.
The most recognizable sportsman from Namibia is probably sprinter Frankie Fredericks, winner of medals in both the Olympic games and the World Championships,
Namibia National Team
The Namibia national team is currently 114th in the FIFA rankings. Although their all-time high was 68th that was back in 1998.
Although they have never qualified for the World Cup, they have made three appearances in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, but failed to get out of their group in 1998, 2008 and 2019. They have also qualified for the finals of 2023, coming second in a qualifying group with Cameroon and Burundi after Kenya were suspended by CAF.
Mamelodi Sundowns striker Peter Shalulile ( 40 caps, 16 goals ) scored 4 goals in that campaign, and has scored over 100 goals in the South African Premier Soccer League. Unfortunately, he was not available for today’s game.
In comparison to the relatively experienced Equatorial Guinea squad, few of the Namibia squad were playing their club football at a similar level. Two of their team were playing in the Kosovo Super League ( Prins Tjiuea and Aprocius Petrus ) whilst seven were playing in South Africa, three in Botswana, and one each in Namibia and Malaysia.
Namibia National League
Like Equatorial Guinea, details of the Namibia league are difficult to obtain in the UK.
Windhoek based African Stars won the 2022/23 Namibia Premier League to enter the 20223/24 CAF Champions League, and lost on away goals to Zambian champions Power Stars after a 2-1 home win ( played in South Africa ) and a 0-1 away defeat. No side was entered into the 2022/23 CAF champions league
Matchday Information
The game was played at the 15,250 capacity Neuvo Estadio de Malabo, in the capital city. The stadium had a grass pitch surrounded by a running track, but with separate all-seater stands on each side of the pitch.
At kick-off there was only a spartan crowd in attendance, but the numbers built up as the game progressed, in particular behind the goal Equatorial Guinea were attacking in the second half.
The weather at the 14.00 local time kick-off ( 13.00 UK time ) was around 27 degrees with thunderstorms expected during the match, but fortunately they stayed away.
Bet365.com, who streamed the match live, made Equatorial Guinea 10/11 favourites, with Namibia 7/2 and the draw at 21/10.
The referee in charge of the game, and his assistants, were from Uganda
Equatorial Guinea were in all red whilst Namibia played in a predominately all white kit.
Match Report
The home side made a strong start and left-wing back Basilio Ndong quickly made ground down the left-wing, but his cross was headed high over the bar by a defender for a corner. The corner was taken short but when the ball was finally crossed it was well caught by the Namibia keeper, who launched a quick break leading to striker Muzeu being chopped down by Ndong. No card was shown for the brutal foul.
With nine minutes on the clock Namibia slopply gave away the ball in their own half and Biroko put Nsue clear, but his shot was blocked by Amutenya at the expense of a corner.
Namibia won their first corner in the 15th minute, but a minute later the home side broke and after a sweeping cross-field pass, Ndong’s first-time volley from the left wing was just too high for Nsue.
Namibia had their first chance of the match a minute later when a long ball out of defence was poorly headed away outside of his area by keeper Owono and after Mezeu slid the ball to Limbondi, the Nambian midfielder steered the ball just wide from the edge of the area.
One of Equatorial Guinea’s clear tactics was to try and play in left-wing back Ndong behind the Namibian defence, and in the 20th minute one such move was blocked at the expense of a corner. The set-piece was played to Coco outside the penalty area, but his low shot fizzed just wide of the post.
In the 24th minute it looked like several Equatorial Guinea players were lining up to take a shot but eventually Ganet’s effort was blocked by Amutenya, and Ndong could not keep the ball in play as keeper Kazapua dived at his feet for the loose ball.
Namibia were looking lively on the counter-attack, but their neat play was increasingly looking light-weight.
After 26 minutes, the pony-tailed Salvador won a free-kick for his side close to the corner flag as Gebhardt tried to shield the ball out of play, but an apparent stray arm made contact with the Miedz Legnica midfielder. Equatorial Guinea squandered the free-kick by passing straight to Hanamub, who set-out on a lightning counter attack and then sent a cross-field pass to Muzeu. The Namibian forward teed up Kambindu, but the low 20-yard shot was comfortably gathered by the keeper.
The first yellow card of the game was shown in the 30th minute, when Muzeu lost control under pressure from Orozoco , and then proceeded to bring down Ndong.
Namibia right-sided midfielder Limbondi then incurred the wrath of the referee with a poor attempted tackle on Ndong on the left side of midfield, but the free-kick from Machin sailed harmlessly several feet over the bar.
Stroppy Equatorial Guinea midfielder Iban Salvador then entered the referee’s note-book with some dissent after conceding a foul, but the home side should have then opened the scoring in the 40th minute.
Salvador delivered an out-swinging free-kick from wide out on the right-hand side of the field which Bikoro met at the far post 6 yards out. Unfortuantely for him, the header was straight at the keeper, who instinctively pushed the ball away for Orozoco to launch himself at the rebound inside the 6 yard box, only for the keeper to make another save.
Equatorial Guinea continued to press and after another move down the left, Ndong passed to Miranda, who chipped to Nsue to chest control, turn, and shoot but only to see the effort blocked.
Three minutes of added time were added as Equatorial Guinea were building up a head of steam, but the half ended with Bikoro committing a bad foul on Hotto.
At half-time the scores were level but the home side were increasingly starting to dominate, and it felt like a matter of time before they would open the scoring. After a bright beginning, Namibia were increasingly looking ineffective going forward.
Equatorial Guinea created another decent chance 20 seconds after the restart, but Bikoro’s 25 yard effort was straight at the keeper. Another good chance was created three minutes later when Ndong was played into space on the left-wing, and although his pull-back from the by-line looked dangerous, Nsue on the stretch just failed to make contact, and the ball fell to a defender to clear.
Increasingly Namibia were defending in deep, inviting Equatorial Guinea to attack. The home side continued to create good chances, and from a free-kick from the right wing by Salvador, the ball was headed out only as far as Miranda, whose first-time volley flashed across the face of the goalmouth. The ball found Orocozo 3 yards from the goal, but the centre-back’s instinctive nod went wide from close range.
On a rare break, a Namibian volley from the edge of the area was easily save by keeper Owono, then Kambindu skipped past Ganet on the right wing, but the attempted cross sailed over the bar.
The opening goal of the match finally arrived in the 66th minute. Club Africain midfielder Bikoro did well on the left-hand side and played in Salvador. The midfielder’s pull back found Nsue 10 yards out, and the swept finish in to the keeper’s right-hand corner of the net gave Kazupa no chance. 1-0 to Equatorial Guinea.
The home side were now in the ascendancy and should have doubled their lead in the 75th minute. Miranda’s pull back gave Buyla a gilt-edged chance, but the substitute’s shot from 10 yards struck the post, and Nsue put the re-bound over the bar when it looked easier to score.
Equatorial Guinea continued to dominate and after a short corner 8 minutes from time, Ganet’s low shot looked to be goal-ward until an out-stretched defender's leg diverted the ball wide for another corner. The subsequent set-piece was played to the near post where Bikoro controlled on his thigh, turned, and then volleyed over from 6 yards.
Ganet then sent a 20 yard effort just passed the post after a long throw had been partially cleared, as it looked more likely that Equatorial Guinea would extend their lead rather than Namibia grabbing an equalizer.
The visitors had rarely threatened in the second half, and their response to failing behind had been to sent a couple of aimless crosses into the home penalty area.
Four minutes of added time were to be played, at the end of which Namibia won a corner. However, their last chance was taken short to substitute Tjiuea, who could only meekly blaze about 20 yards high and wide.
At the final whistle, Equatorial Guinea deserved took the three points, and frankly they probably deserved to win by a greater margin than one goal.
Equatorial Guinea : Owono – Akapo ( Aniebou ), Orozoco, Ganet, Coco – Salvador ( Buyla ), Bikoro, Machin ( Ela ), Miranda ( Eneme ), Ndong - Nsue
Namibia : Kazupa – Kamberipa, Amutenya ( Hambira ), Gebhardt, Hanamub – Limbondi ( Tjiuea ), Shitembi ( Kasume ), A.Petrus, Hotto – Kambindu ( Kambato ), Muzeu
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