Emilio Nsue, the 34-year-old right-back playing in Spain’s third division, has emerged as an unexpected hero, capturing attention as the captain of Equatorial Guinea’s national team.
His remarkable feat of scoring five goals has surpassed any other player in the tournament, propelling his team to the Round of 16 with a perfect record in a challenging group that includes host nation Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Guinea-Bissau.
The amusement surrounding Nsue extends to commentators and journalists following the tournament, sparked by the confusion over the pronunciation and Arabic transcription of his name, “Nsue.”
This marks only the fourth participation for Equatorial Guinea, a small West African coastal nation, in the continental championship.
Speaking about this achievement, the player from Inter Escaldes in Spain, who plays as a forward for his national team, expressed, “We can’t believe it. This is history for our country and our people.
It’s a big dream.”
Nsue scored two goals on Monday, leading Equatorial Guinea to a 4-0 victory over Ivory Coast, leaving the host nation teetering on the brink of elimination from the tournament.
He commented, “Sometimes, this happens in football. We shot the ball 4 or 5 times and scored 4.
The players gave their all.
We’ve shown once again that we are a very strong group.
We fight for each other.
We help each other.
We don’t have any big stars, but as a team, we are one of the strongest in Africa.”
In the previous match, Nsue netted a hat-trick in a 4-2 win against Guinea-Bissau, marking the first hat-trick in the Africa Cup of Nations in 16 years.
Nsue has become the oldest player ever to achieve this feat.
His five goals in the group stage are the most by any player since 1970, when Laurent Pokou scored 7 goals against Sudan.
It is worth noting that the official match ball for the current Africa Cup of Nations bears the name “Pokou,” in honor of the former Ivorian striker.
