Equatorial Guinea women's national football team
Nickname(s) | Nzalang Femenino[1] | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Equatoguinean Football Federation | ||
Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
Sub-confederation | UNIFFAC (Central Africa) | ||
Head coach | Guillermo Ganet | ||
Captain | Dorine Chuigoué | ||
Most caps | Genoveva Añonman (32) | ||
Top scorer | Genoveva Añonman (24) | ||
FIFA code | EQG | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 90 ![]() | ||
Highest | 50 (September 2015, December 2016 – March 2017) | ||
Lowest | 119 (March 2006) | ||
First international | |||
![]() ![]() (Equatorial Guinea; 10 June 2000) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Hostert, Luxembourg; 18 June 2011) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() (Ilıca, Turkey; 23 February 2021) | |||
World Cup | |||
Appearances | 1 (first in 2011) | ||
Best result | Group Stage (2011) | ||
Africa Women Cup of Nations | |||
Appearances | 4 (first in 2006) | ||
Best result | Winners (2008 & 2012) |
The Equatorial Guinea women's national football team, nicknamed the Nzalang Femenino, has represented Equatorial Guinea in senior international women's football competition since 2000. It is controlled by the Equatoguinean Football Federation, the governing body for football in Equatorial Guinea.[citation needed]
In the 2008 Women's African Football Championship they defeated the seven-time champions Nigeria 1–0 in the semifinal and went on to win the championship beating South Africa 2–1. They became the first nation other than Nigeria to win the Women's African Football Championship. Equatorial Guinea played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The team won the 2012 African Women's Championship, winning 4–0 in the final against South Africa.
Equatorial Guinea is the third women's team (out of eight) from the Confederation of African Football to qualify for a FIFA Women's World Cup (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, Morocco and Zambia being the others).[3]
History
Equatorial Guinea defeated South Africa 2–1 in an Olympic Games Qualifier on 18 February 2007, but lost the return leg 4–2. In the 2008 Women's African Football Championship (which they hosted), they went undefeated in Group A which featured Cameroon, Congo, and Mali. They defeated Nigeria 1–0 in the semifinal and went on to win the championship beating South Africa 2–1. They became the first (and, so far, only) nation other than Nigeria to win the Women's African Football Championship. They made their debut in an international tournament at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, losing all three of their group stage matches against Norway, Australia and Brazil.

In 2012, Equatorial Guinea hosted and won the 2012 African Women's Championship. They won the semi-final 2–0 versus Cameroon, and the final 4–0 against South Africa, with two goals by Gloria Chinasa and one each by Tiga (Adriana Aparecida Costa) and the captain Genoveva Añonman.
Between 2006 and 2010, Bilguissa and Salimata Simporé, a sibling duo from Burkina Faso, used to play for Equatorial Guinea – the first as a central defender and the latter as a centre forward. Beyond the mechanism by which they were naturalized (similar to the Brazilians),[4] the main controversy about the Simporés arose regarding whether they were actually two men. Around April 2011, they were removed from national team by the Italian-born Brazilian coach Marcelo Frigerio, who had recently assumed, just a few months before participating in the World Cup.[5] Since then, the Simporé siblings never were called-up. In 2015, Frigerio, now a former national team coach, told the Brazilian press they are men.[6]
Eligibility of players controversy
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2017) |
In recent years, Equatorial Guinea has courted controversy by recruiting foreign players and giving them citizenship despite having little or no ties to the country. In 2009, South African journalist and FIFA archivist Mark Gleeson wrote that it was undermining the integrity of African football.[7]
In late 2005, and at the request of Ruslán Obiang Nsue, a son of President Teodoro Obiang, Brazilian coach Antônio Dumas recruited several Brazilian players to represent the Equatorial Guinea but the CAF and FIFA turned a blind eye, despite complaints from other nations.
In 2012, having lost the first leg of a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification round 4–0 to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea recruited nine Brazilian players to help overturn the deficit for the second leg. The team did manage to win the match 2–1, but it was not enough to overturn the aggregate and Equatorial Guinea were eliminated. DR Congo head coach Claude Le Roy complained that the Equatorial Guinea were acting like the "United Nations of football".[8]
Before the arrival of new coach Andoni Goikoetxea to Malabo, in March 2013, the Equatoguinean board made the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Cape Verde and again called-up nine Brazilian players.[9] In May 2013, they joined Colombian-born, Equatorian-based Jimmy Bermúdez, who was going to be paid €3,000 for each match he played.[10]
During the 2015 qualifiers, in the games played against Mauritania, the Nzalang Nacional lost 1–0 away and won 3–0 in Malabo, qualifying to the next round to face Uganda. However, the Mauritanian Football Federation submitted a complaint to CAF about the inclusion of ineligible players by Equatorial Guinea (some with fake passports and false names), resulting in the expulsion of the Equatorial Guinean team, based on the particular situation of Thierry Fidjeu, while the cases of the other players remained under investigation.[11][12] However, they were reinstated after Morocco withdrew from hosting due to Ebola outbreak.[13][14][15][16]
Emilio Nsue, who played for Spanish youth national teams from 2005 to 2011, played two matches of Equatorial Guinea in 2013. A few months later, FIFA declared him ineligible for that match and for the return fixture, awarding both games to Cape Verde by a 3–0 scoreline.[17] Nsue did not gain Equatoguinean nationality until after playing official matches for Spain and the Equatoguinean Football Federation did not ask FIFA for permission to switch allegiances.[18] Nsue continued to play for Equatorial Guinea despite FIFA declaring his ineligibility, including the 2015, 2021, and 2023 editions of the African Cup of Nations.[18] In June 2024, FIFA judges ruled that Nsue was never eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea throughout his entire career.[18][19]
The women's national football team was also implicated directly in the naturalized players' controversy. For example, both FIFA and CAF found the federation liable for providing fake passports of players who were actually born in Brazil. Their issues go way back to 2011, when Equatorial Guinea fielded an ineligible player, Jade Boho without completing her one-time switch (from Spain), Equatorial Guinea was disqualified from the Women's Football tournament at the 2012 Olympic Games.[20]
Since then, they fielded Camila Maria do Carmo Nobre de Oliveira, who was ruled ineligible to play for Equatorial Guinea because she was using two passports with unreliably different information during the qualifying competition for the 2016 Olympics. Specifically, she also has two birth certificates that show different information about her parents' nationality. A further investigation found that they have fielded 12 ineligible players, two of them with forged passports, and consequently, they were banned from the next three women's AFCONs, the 2020 Olympics, and the 2019 Women's World Cup.[21][22][23][24][25][26] Subsequently, the federation appealed to CAS, and both CAS and CAF overturned the ban during their emergency meeting for the 2018 Women's AFCON tournament. Initially, Kenya replaced Equatorial Guinea after they were disqualified by the CAF for fielding an ineligible player,[27][28][29] but the decision was overturned on appeal, and Equatorial Guinea were reintegrated into the competition.[30][31] Kenya appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[32][33] but failed to overturn the decision.[34]
Team image
Nicknames
The Equatorial Guinea women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Nzalang Femenino".
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Fixture
2025
20 February 2026 WAFCON qualifying | Tanzania ![]() | 3–1 | ![]() | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
16:00 UTC+3 | Report | Midje ![]() |
Stadium: Azam Complex Stadium |
26 February 2026 WAFCON qualifying | Equatorial Guinea ![]() | 1–1 (2–4 agg.) | ![]() | Malabo, Equatorial Guinea |
19:00 UTC+1 | Chuigoué ![]() |
Report | Kasonga ![]() |
Stadium: Estadio de Malabo Referee: Mercy Mayimbo (Zimbabwe) |
Note: Tanzania won 4–2 on aggregate. |
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020) |
Position | Name | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Head coach | Guillermo Ganet |
Manager history
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
- As of 26 February 2025, after the match against
Tanzania.
Name | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2018–2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00.0% | |
José David Ekang | 2023 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 00.0% | |
Guillermo Ganet | 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 00.0% |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Tanzania on 20 and 26 February 2025.[35]
Caps and goals as of 26 February 2025, after the match against the Tanzania.
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up to an Equatorial Guinea squad in the past 12 months.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Anita Juliana Nze | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
GK | Maisi Oga | 7 August 1999 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Marie Ovah | 18 June 1986 | 4+ | 0+ | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Lola Okenve | 12 March 1997 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Graciosa Olivia Akum | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
DF | Teodora Bórico | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
DF | Celia Ebesi | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
DF | Elena Nkono | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Lynda Mendoua | 26 June 1994 | 4+ | 0+ | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Berta Melania Okomo | 7 November 2005 | 6 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Loida Medja | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Diana Meriva | 3 March 2002 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Lourdes Emilia Abegue | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Montserrath Bokirio | 19 September 2005 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Josefa Nchama | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Reina Nñegue | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Luz Milagrosa Obono | 7 April 1996 | 6+ | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Ramona Mibuy | 28 June 2002 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Claudia Teresa Mayé | 7 January 2006 | 7 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Sandra Lopelo | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
FW | Thais Begoña Pargaray | 30 January 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
Constancia Nchama | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury |
Records
- Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.
- As of 25 January 2021
Most capped players
|
Top goalscorers
|
Competitive record
Worldwide
FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup finals record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD |
![]() |
Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 |
![]() |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
Banned[36][22] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() ![]() |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
![]() |
To be determined | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 1/10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
FIFA Women's World Cup finals history | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Stadium |
![]() |
Group stage | 29 June | ![]() |
L 0–1 | Impuls Arena, Augsburg |
3 July | ![]() |
L 2–3 | Ruhrstadion, Bochum | ||
6 July | ![]() |
L 0–3 | Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt |
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA |
![]() |
Did Not Enter | ||||||
![]() |
Did Not Enter | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Disqualified[20] | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Banned[37] | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
Total | 0/7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Africa Women Cup of Nations
Africa Women Cup of Nations record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA |
1991 | Did Not Enter | ||||||
1995 | Did Not Enter | ||||||
![]() |
Did Not Enter | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
![]() |
Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
![]() |
Runners-Up | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 |
![]() |
Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Disqualified[38] | ||||||
![]() |
Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
![]() |
Banned,[38] later cancelled | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify[a] | ||||||
Total | 2 Titles | 21 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 46 | 39 |
African Games
African Games record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA |
![]() |
Did Not Enter | ||||||
![]() | |||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Did Not Enter | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||
Total | 0/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Regional
UNIFFAC Women's Cup
UNIFFAC Women's Cup | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA | GD |
![]() |
winner | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 |
Total | 1/1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 6 | +6 |
Turkish Women's Cup
![]() | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
2021 | 4th Place | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | −16 |
Total | 1/5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | −16 |
Honours
Continental
Regional
- Champions (1):
2020
All−time record against FIFA recognized nations
The list shown below shows the Equatorial Guinea women's national football team all−time international record against opposing nations.
*As of xxxxxx after match against xxxx.
- Key
Against | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Confederation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Record per opponent
*As ofxxxxx after match against xxxxx.
- Key
The following table shows Equatorial Guinea's all-time official international record per opponent:
Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W% | Confederation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | — |
See also
Notes
- ^ Challenged by the Equatoguinean Football Federation, which claims DR Congo have fielded two players (Fideline Ngoy and Falonne Pambani) who had appeared at the 2012 African Women's Championship using other dates of birth.[39]
References
- ^ "Selección femenina absoluta (Nzalang Femenino)". Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ "BBC SPORT | Football | African | Equatorial Guinea lift AWC trophy". BBC News. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ Smith, David (26 November 2010). "Equatorial Guinea's footballers caught up in gender row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Hassett, Soccer Sebastian (23 June 2011). "Matildas' rivals drop duo over gender row". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ De Matos, José Edgar; Bianchini, Vladimir (11 September 2015). "Técnico do São Paulo conta como barrou dois homens em seleção feminina às vésperas de Copa" [São Paulo coach tells how he banned two men in women's national team on the World Cup eve] (in Portuguese). ESPN. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ Soccer, World (9 March 2009). "African football's integrity is undermined, by Mark Gleeson". World Soccer. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ Basic, Dusko (2015). "The United Nations of Football South-South Migration, Transnational Ties and Denationalization in the National Football Teams of Equatorial Guinea and Togo" (PDF). University of Cologne. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ "Volante Neto é convocado pela Seleção de Guiné Equatorial" [Midfielder Neto is called for the national team of Equatorial Guinea] (in Portuguese). Barretos Esporte Clube. 10 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ "Bermúdez es convocado a la Selección de Guinea Ecuatorial : Diario Centinela" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ Press, The Associated (4 July 2014). "Equatorial Guinea Disqualified From African Cup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Afcon 2015: Equatorial Guinea disqualified from play-offs". BBC Sport. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "CAF acknowledges Morocco's refusal to host ORANGE AFCON 2015 from January 17 to February 8". AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "EQUATORIAL GUINEA DESIGNATED HOST COUNTRY OF ORANGE AFCON 2015". AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Why Equatorial Guinea was chosen as Nations Cup hosts". BBC News. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea to host tournament". CNN. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea sanctioned for fielding ineligible player". FIFA. 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- ^ a b c Dunbar, Graham (3 June 2024). "FIFA ruling shows AFCON star Emilio Nsue was ineligible for entire career with Equatorial Guinea". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Akingbade, Deolu (4 June 2024). "Nsue was never eligible for Equatorial Guinea, FIFA says". Football(In Detail). Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ a b "E. Guinea women's team disqualified from Olympics". FOX Sports. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea banned from next three Africa Women Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ a b sport, Guardian (5 October 2017). "Fifa cries foul over Equatorial Guinea's 10 ineligible Brazilians". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea expelled from FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". FIFA.com. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea expelled from FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "FIFA bans Equatorial Guinea from 2019 Women's World Cup". AP News. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea banned from 2019 Women's World Cup". BBC Sport. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Harambee Starlets appeal against Equatorial Guinea upheld, Kenya set to grace AWCON". Football Kenya Federation. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
- ^ "CAF disqualifies Equatorial Guinea from 2018 Women's AFCON". www.aipsmedia.com. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Kenya replace Equatorial Guinea at Women's Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "CAF Appeal Board reinstates Equatorial Guinea Women's National Team - Football Legal". www.football-legal.com. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "CAF reviews ban and lets Equatorial Guinea back in to Women's Africa Cup of Nations". Inside World Football. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Kenya to appeal to Cas over Equatorial Guinea reinstatement". BBC Sport. 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Kenya file late appeal over Women's Nations Cup exclusion". BBC Sport. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Kenya loses CAS appeal over Women's Nations Cup exclusion". BBC Sport. 16 November 2018.
- ^ Squad for First round
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea expelled from FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". FIFA.com. 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea expelled from Women's Olympic Football Tournament 2020". FIFA.com. 11 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Equatorial Guinea disqualified, Mali in". CAF. 4 August 2016.
- ^ Anatolio (6 December 2023). "El Nzalang Femenino podría jugar la CAN por alineación indebida de RDC" [Nzalang Femenino could play the AFCON due to DRC improper fielding]. Actualidad Guinea Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.