Emilio Nsue, the child from Mallorca who became a star of Equatorial Guinea and current top scorer in the competition

Sometimes a defender, the captain of Equatorial Guinea is, before the round of 16, the current top scorer in the competition ahead of stars Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Victor Osimhen.

An African Cup of Nations which sees some of the most anticipated selections miss their objectives inevitably leaves room for unsuspected faces to shine. At the time of the round of 16, the early eliminations of Algeria, Tunisia and the miraculous repechage of Côte d’Ivoire still monopolize the media spotlight, but do not completely eclipse the sensation of this start of the edition : the brilliant competition of Emilio Nsue and Equatorial Guinea.

Three matches, five goals, including a hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau and a double against Ivory Coast. The captain of “Nzalang Nacional” is quite simply the current top scorer in the CAN. Surprising for this 34-year-old player who has spent his career oscillating between several positions, mainly playing full-back. Number 10 printed on his back, it is in the role of striker that he plays in the selection. He is also the historic top scorer with 22 goals.

A unique trajectory

Nothing to get excited about for someone who has a long professional career in Europe, from Spain to England, via Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina. “We’re not going to start thinking that because we beat Ivory Coast (4-0) we’re going to win the tournament.”, he tempered before looking ahead to the round of 16 between his team and Guinea on Sunday (6 p.m.). It’s not as if Equatorial Guinea is at its first attempt.

This small country of 1.6 million inhabitants has systematically qualified for the knockout phase each time it has participated in the CAN, with a semi-final in 2015 and two quarter-finals in 2012 and 2021 Emilio Nsue was among the three most recent and is one of the three most notable faces of his selection alongside pocket winger Iban Salvador and injury absentee Pedro Obiang, well known from Serie A and the Premier League.

“At 34, I feel better than ever”, welcomed the person concerned in an interview with AFP on Thursday. His joy is increased tenfold by the already clear contrast with his last participation in the CAN. “When I had an opportunity, I missed it (…). I was ready to retire”remembers the man who was unemployed at that time and had to “train alone” to travel to Cameroon. Emilio Nsue’s trajectory has never been straight anyway. He has only worn the colors of Guinea-Bissau since 2013. A choice he made after being selected by Spain in all youth categories from U16 to Espoirs, with whom he was titled European champion in 2011, alongside Thiago Alcantara, Jordi Alba and David De Gea.

“They welcomed me like I was Cristiano Ronaldo”

“I insisted a lot [pour qu’il joue avec la Guinée équatoriale], confides his former teammate in Mallorca (2010-2011) Pierre Webo, himself a former Cameroonian international. He didn’t want to go at first, but he had this doubt. I was coming and going from the Cameroon national team. Every time he wanted to know how it went.”. Nsue hoped until the last moment to be part of the Spanish Olympic team at the London 2012 Games, in vain. It was only after declining the first approach to the African selection that the child from Mallorca joined his father’s homeland in March 2013.

“He’s the same boy I knew a long time ago. He has a lot of energy. He’s always positive. He’s the one who brings joy to the locker room. He knows how to raise his voice when it has to be done. That was already the case when he was very young. He has this leadership in his blood.”

Pierre Webo, ex-teammate of Emilio Nsue

at Franceinfo: sport

“Years later, we saw each other in Mallorca and he told me that it was one of the best decisions he had made in his career”rejoices Pierre Webo who experiences “lots of affection” for the player he took under his wing almost 15 years ago. Nsue remembers his first arrival on national soil as an Equatoguinean player very well: “They welcomed me at the airport as if I was Cristiano Ronaldo. For a La Liga player to come and play at a time when we were losing every match… There, I really felt like a god”.

Everything did not start very well for him under his new colors since his first selection cost Equatorial Guinea a defeat on the green carpet because he had not yet gathered all the necessary documents. On the pitch, however, he started with a hat-trick against Cape Verde in a 4-3 victory. The planets have since aligned and the current resident of Intercity, a club in the 3rd Spanish division, has the opportunity, Sunday against Guinea, to extend the best period of his career.