Equatorial Guinea want to keep flying at AFCON

• Equatorial Guinea finished top of their group
• They will take on Guinea in the round of 16
• Skipper Emilio Nsue is leading their charge

Equatorial Guinea want to keep flying at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), as they take on Guinea in the round of 16. After a brilliant campaign in the group phase that included a brilliant 4-0 victory over hosts Ivory Coast, the Equatoguineans are top in confidence and believe they can keep their story going.

Equatorial Guinea Head coach Juan Micha says the team has reaped maximum confidence from how they played in the group phase, but have put all that behind their backs and are focused on the next duel.

“I think we are here to tackle match by match. We are already in the round of 16 which will be a difficult match. We are not favorites. We always respect the opponent. We take the match as a normal game, and we will work hard in our preparation,” the tactician said, looking to ease off pressure from his players.

Micha believes if they stick together, they can achieve a beautiful story at the tournament.

Equatorial Guinea a Humble family

Equatorial Guinea celebrate their win. PHOTO/CAF

“We are a humble family who work every day to improve. The results we have achieved do not mean that we are the best. We work every day and take things step by step,” said the coach.

His sentiments are shared by defender Saul Coco, who says they expect a tough duel from Guinea but are ready to compete.

“Guinea are a complicated opponent and it will be a very difficult match. We will make more effort because so far, we have demonstrated that when we have the ball, we know how to use it well,” he noted.

The Nzalang Nacional reached the quarter finals in Cameroon 2021, and they look to match that feat this time too.

Equatorial Guinea finished top of Group A with seven points, drawing 1-1 with Nigeria, beating Guinea Bissau 2-0 and topping that up with the unforgettable result against Ivory Coast.

On-fire Guirassy hopes to guide Guinea into quarters

Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy in action at a past match REUTERS/Albert Gea

Meanwhile, Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy has been in brilliant form for his German club Stuttgart, but has not quite hit it off at the AFCON. Guirassy arrived in Ivory Coast with a niggling injury that troubled his build up and probably the reason he is yet to fire in some goals for the Syli National.

However, feeling better and much more focused, the striker hopes he can do some work when they take on Equatorial Guinea in the round of 16 and help his team make the last eight.

“The state of mind is good, it has always been good. As a team we are all focused on the objective, which is to go beyond this round. We came into this competition to reach a new milestone and we will have to show it. Today I feel better. It’s never easy to get back to 100% after a muscle injury,” said the forward.

Guinea last made it past the round of 16 in 2015 and in Cameroon last year, were eliminated from this same round.

Head coach Kaba Diawara believes his side has a good chance to make it into the quarters, though he admits it will not come easy against Equatorial Guinea.

“In training, we insisted on working on what we want to put in place. In the round of 16, there are no favorites. We are much better than in 2021 and know each other better. All we want is to win. We know that the group stage has nothing to do with the knockout stage. It’s another AFCON which is direct elimination. We just have to win, and I insist on that,” the tactician offered.