Equatorial Guinea Captain Emilio Lopez Nsue made AFCON history as he led his side to a historic victory over Guinea-Bissau in the ongoing African Nations Cup in Cote d'Ivoire.
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| Emilio Nsue celebrates after scoring against Guinea Bissau |
Equatorial Guinea's Emilio Nsue Makes AFCON History
Emilio, who plays club football for Spanish third-tier side Intercity FC, scored his country's first, third, and fourth goals in the 4-2 victory over their group A rivals.
34-year-old Emilio Nsue became the first player in 16 years to register a hat-trick in an AFCON game since Morocco's Soufiane Alloudi in 1998.
The fact that the former Middlesbrough, Mallorca, and Real Sociedad man is a defender by trade makes the achievement even more remarkable.
In fact, Emilio Nsue is only the 5th player have achieved this feat.
In a game where both teams were looking to kick start their AFCON campaigns after both failed to win their opening matches, it was Equatorial Guinea who took the lead in the 21st minute after a poor clearance by Guinea Bissau's goalkeeper Ouparine Djoco.
Guinea-Bissau leveled proceedings in the 37th minute when defender Orozco Fernandez turned the ball into his own net.
The game was almost turned on its head when referee Abdel Aziz Mohammed awarded a penalty to Guinea Bissau, but the VAR overturned the decision, which meant the game went to halftime at 1-1.
The second half had hardly begun when another mistake from Guinea Bissau gifted Equatorial Guinea another goal less than one minute after the restart, Josete Miranda, the scorer on this occasion.
The man of the day, Emilio, made sure of the points with his side's 3rd goal five minutes later, completing his hat-trick just after the hour mark.
Substitute Ze Turbo scored Guinea-Bissau's second in the third minute of stoppage time, but the damage had already been done.
What Does This Result Mean for Both Teams?
The Zalang Nacional's victory takes them to the top of Group A with 4 points, while Guinea is starring at elimination right in the face, having lost their first two games. Equatorial
In the other group A game, tournament hosts Cote D'Ivoire lost their match day game 1-0 to three-time AFCON winners Nigeria.
When Are the Next Group A Matches?
The third and final group matches for Group A will be played on Monday, January 22nd, with Equatorial Guinea taking on hosts Cote D'Ivoire, while Guinea-Bissau will be chasing their slim hopes of qualification for the next round when they face the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
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