Equatorial Guinea eye top spot in Group J

After bagging four successive wins in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying campaign, Equatorial Guinea are one win away from earning top spot in Group J when they face Libya at the Martyrs of February Stadium on Wednesday night.

Kick-off is at 9:00pm (SA, GMT+2)

2023 Afcon Qualifiers background

After a 4-0 loss to Tunisia in their opening Afcon qualifier back in June 2022, ‘National Thunder’ as they’re affectionately known, made sure to bounce back in going on an undefeated run in Group J thereafter.

Boasting one of the most impressive records in the tournament, Equatorial Guinea got one over Tunisia in their latest qualifying match, recording a 1-0 win at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo earlier this year. The victory saw Equatorial Guinea qualify for the showpiece which will be hosted by Ivory Coast in January 2024.

While Equatorial Guinea are unbeaten in their last four games, Libya are currently on a four-match losing streak in their 2023 Afcon qualifying campaign.

After a bright start to their qualifying bid, which saw Libya claim a 1-0 win over Botswana at the Martyrs February Stadium in June last year, The Mediterranean Knights went on a downward spiral since then.

In their subsequent defeats to Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia and Botswana, Libya failed to register a single goal while conceding seven goals in four matches.

Team news

Libya coach Hamdi Bataw summoned a youthful squad for their final Group J match, with 18 players earning their first call-up to the Mediterranean Knight’s team.

Up-and-coming Libyan talents such as Abdulsalam Dega, Aseel Al-Maqsabi, Osama Al-Sareet and Mohamed Ayad all stand in line as some of the new faces in Bataw’s team selection.

Also, striker Abdulmuyasser Bousheiba did enough to impress Bataw following his 11-goal haul in the Libyan Premier League last season.

Equatorial Guinea coach Juan Micha named a 22-man squad for the game against Libya, which includes the experienced Federico Bikoro, who made 43 senior appearances for National Thunder.

With some room to experiment, Micha handed debut call-ups to Charles Ondo, Noe Ela, Aitor Lora and Javier Mum for the tie.

Head-to-head

As far as the head-to-head count is concerned, Equatorial Guinea hold the upper hand over Libya in the last five matches played in all competitions. While Libya bagged just one win over Equatorial Guinea during this period, National Thunder go into the game on the back of three consecutive wins over the Mediterranean Knights.