How 34-year-old Equatorial Guinea striker is writing history at AFCON 2023
24th January 2024
Nsue is the current top scorer in the tournament ongoing in Ivory Coast.
- Nsue is among the unexpected players who have written history in the AFCON group stages.
- He put up a spirited show to become the first player to score a hat-trick in the competition since the 2008 edition.
- Nsue is currently leading the goalscoring chart with 5 goals.
As the group stage
matches of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Cote d’Ivoire 2023 took place,
supporters expected to see familiar names scoring for fun and choreographing
wins for their teams.
However, unexpected
names and underdogs have stolen the show making the tournament exciting to
watch.
Emilio Nsue is among the unexpected players who have written history in the AFCON group stages. Nsue, who doubles as Equatorial Guinea captain, put up a spirited show to become the first player to score a hat-trick in the competition since the 2008 edition.
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The 34-year-old
striker bagged his first hat trick of the tournament on Thursday, January 18,
against arch-rivals Guinea Bissau, helping his team secure a 4-2 victory.
Nsue is currently
leading the goalscoring chart with 5 goals followed by Algeria's Baghdad
Bounedjah who has three goals alongside Egypt's Mostafa Mohamed.
Although it has not
been an easy race for Nsue who has waited for 16 years before bagging a
hat-trick. This placed him on the list of 17 players who have so far scored hat
tricks AFCON games were launched in 1957.
During the 2015 and 2021 editions, the Equatorial Guinea skipper who plies his trade with CF Intercity in the Spanish third tier only scored once.
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win of 2024
His stellar
performance has helped Equatorial Guinea finish top of Group A with 7 points
with the highlight of his team's performance being the thrashing of hosts Cote
d’Ivoire 4-0.
Nsue netted a brace
while goals from Pablo Ganet and Jannick Bulya increased the tally to four for
the Equatoguineans.
Following the win, Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbatsogo declared Tuesday a public holiday and handed the side lucrative bonuses for reaching the Round of 16.
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Ivory Coast