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Equatorial Guinea beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2 in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group A match at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan yesterday.
The National Thunder got off to a bright start and they broke the deadlock through Emilio Esue after some poor defending by the African Wild Dogs. Esue beat goalkeeper Djoco from close range to hand Equatorial Guinea a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
Guinea-Bissau responded by surging forward in numbers — applying some pressure on their opponents’ defence. Parity was restored in the 37th minute when Esteban Obiang netted an unfortunate own-goal, and the score was 1-1 during the half-time break.
However, National Thunder made a strong start to the second half and they scored through Josete Miranda just a minute into the second half to make it 2-1 to Equatorial Guinea. It was soon 3-1 to Equatorial Guinea when Esue turned home Basilio Ndong’s cross in the 51st minute.
Esue was hungry for goals on the day, and he deservedly grabbed his hat-trick in the 61st minute to extend Equatorial Guinea’s lead to 4-1. Substitute Ze Turbo netted for Guinea-Bissau in stoppage time, but the goal proved to be a mere consolation as Equatorial Guinea held on to secure a 4-2 win — SuperSport.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter