Source: newsthemegh.com
Equatorial Guinea destroyed the tournament hosts 4-0 in their Group A match on Monday, causing one of the biggest upsets of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
During the match at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Nzalang Nacional thrashed the Elephants, causing a seismic shockwave in the world of football.
The minnows destroyed the highly anticipated Ivorians in one of the biggest upsets of the season, due to goals from Pablo Ganet, Jannick Buyla, and Emilio Nsue twice.
Along with additional goals by Pablo Ganet and Jannick Bulya that saw Equatorial Guinea astonish the football world, Nsue’s brace increased his lead on the goalscoring charts to five.
Despite being tied for second place with Nigeria on seven points, the Nzalang Nacional emerge victorious from their group and move on to the tournament’s knockout stage.
The home team finishes third in Group A, which means their chances of making it to the knockout stage are slim to none.
The Elephants, supported by the crowd, started the match better than predicted, but they subsequently regretted missing several easy opportunities to score goals due to their inaccurate shooting.
Before the half, the team led by the inform Nsue scored a goal in the 41st minute with a well-executed close range finish.
As the second stanza began, Equatorial Guinea denied the Elephants their opportunity to take the lead, and VAR also disallowed two of their goals.
In the 72nd minute, Pablo Ganet scored a miracle goal to increase the advantage for the Elephants with a well-taken free kick that struck the top corner of the net.
Immediately following the restart, Nsue completed a swift counterattack to extend the lead to three.
Jannick Buyla drove the last nail in the coffin, capping a comeback effort that sealed a resounding victory for his team.
The Elephants now have to wait to find out if they have advanced to the tournament’s knockout stage after their devastating loss.
However, Equatorial Guinea’s historic four-goal rout tops Group A, placing them ahead of their fierce rivals Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
The central African minnows, who had just deflated the boast of one of Africa’s strongest sides, had suddenly become giant-killers.