The State of Play
Equatorial Guinea have been one of the surprise packages at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, under the management of Juan Micha. They began their campaign by holding Nigeria to a 1-1 draw and were arguably the better side in that match. After that they dispatched of Guinea-Bissau by four goals to two before hammering hosts, Ivory Coast, 4-0 in what will go down as a historic and famous result for Equatorial Guinea.
They now face a Guinean side that have a very strong core. Guinea rested and rotated players such as Mohamed Bayo, Morgan Guilavogui, Julian Jeanvier and Mouctar Diakhaby the other day but have an impressive depth. They began with a draw against Cameroon before edging past The Gambia and then finishing their group stage campaign with a 2-0 loss to defending champions Senegal.
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Juan Micha has been generally loyal to his players so far and it is very unlikely they make any changes for this one with the only previous doubt being the fitness of right-back, Carlos Akapo. The key man, Emilio Nsue, is fundamental to everything good that Equatorial Guinea will do.
As mentioned, Kaba Diawara has plenty of options all over the pitch. His decision to switch to a midfield three of Naby Keita, Amadou Diawara and Ilaix Moriba against Senegal is likely to be stuck with. Serhou Guirassy played 63 minutes in that game as the in-form Stuttgart striker regains full fitness.
Expected Line-ups
Equatorial Guinea: Owono; Akapo, Orozco, Coco, Ndong; Salvador, Ganet, Bikoro, Miranda; Machin; Nsue
Guinea: Kone; Diakite, Sow, M. Camara, I. Sylla; Moriba, Diawara; A. Camara, Keita, Guilavogui; Guirassy
What they Said
Juan Micha has suggested his Equatorial Guinea can go all the way in this tournament after their 4-0 hammering of the hosts the other day: “With humility we can compete”.
Kaba Diawara has been praised by Guinea’s winger, Aguibou Camara, saying he ‘is a coach who pushes us to work. In the changing room he speaks to us and motivates us a lot during matches.”
When and How to Watch
This match will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium at 17:00 on Sunday January 28th and will be televised live on Sky Sports in the UK. It can be streamed live via the Sky Go app in the UK.
Prediction
Equatorial Guinea have moved themselves into the category of ‘contenders’ for the knockout stages of this tournament. Juan Micha has them playing an expressive and expansive style of football, scoring nine goals in their three group stage matches. They face a Guinea side that are yet to but surely will click going forward with their array of talent and that means this one could be quite an entertaining and high-scoring affair.
