Africa Cup of Nations - Group A - Equatorial Guinea




Colours: All red
Capital: Malabo
Country population: 676,000

Equatorial Guinea are the joint hosts of the tournament with Gabon. It's probably safe to say that they wouldn't be in the finals if it wasn't for the fact that they were hosting the tournament, as they have never qualified before.

The first game that the nation played was in 1975 when they played against China and lost to them 6-2, the defeat obviously came as a blow as they didn't take part in a competitive game again until 19895 when they entered the UDEAC Cup. Their greatest victory to date is winning the 2006 CEMAC Cup.

They have tried to bolster their chances by recruiting as many players as possible with Guinean heritage from Spain. In fact 11 of the squad members were born in Spain and they would be able to put together a whole 'Spanish' team if only one of the goalkeepers had been born there.

Star player: Rodolfo Bodipo Diaz



34 year old Diaz can inject some experience into the team. He is one of the most experienced players and part of the Spanish contingent who make up the team. He is currently on the books of Deportivo La Coruna, but is out on loan to Elche this season. He is a striker and his best year came 2004-2005 where he fired in 16 goals for Deportivo Alaves.

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