Victor Osimhen, Mohamed Salah, or Sadio Mané were perhaps the most likely contenders for the top scorer award in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), but the completely unexpected name leading the goal-scoring chart in Ivory Coast has more goals than these three names combined. Emilio Nsue, the captain of Equatorial Guinea, heads into the round of 16 match against Guinea on Sunday after scoring five times in the group stage. If he continues at this pace, he could break the record of Ndaye Mulamba, who scored nine goals in CAN-1974.
“I am ambitious, but to be honest, I would sign a contract right now if it said I would be the top scorer,” he smiled when this record was mentioned to him in an interview with AFP in Abidjan. Nsue scored two goals in the 4-0 victory over the hosts in the last group stage match, after netting three in the 4-2 win against Guinea-Bissau, marking the first hat-trick in CAN since 2008.
Ranked 18th in Africa, Equatorial Guinea—with a population of 1.7 million—is not a football powerhouse, but the Central African nation has made notable progress in the last decade, fueled by hosting CAN in 2012 and again in 2015, when they reached the semi-finals.
“The Strongest in All of Africa”
The current team, led by coach Juan Micha, has been undefeated since June 2022.
“The most important, our strength, is the group because we have been playing together for almost eight or nine years, so we are brothers,” said Nsue.
“We don’t have any superstars, but as a group, I think we are the strongest in all of Africa.”
Nsue is certainly the closest thing the Guineans have to a star.
Born in Mallorca, he was part of the Spanish national team that won the UEFA U-21 Euro in 2011 alongside David de Gea, Juan Mata, and Thiago Alcântara but chose to represent his father’s native country at the senior level when he was a regular in LaLiga with Mallorca.
“Equatorial Guinea approached me and said, ‘Please, you have to come. You will be the captain. You are young, but we think you are the future.’ I thought about it and everything my father explained to me,” said Nsue.
The start was not the best, despite the hat-trick in the 4-3 victory over Cape Verde in 2013, as Equatorial Guinea was defeated 3-0 because Nsue was, in fact, ineligible.
However, Nsue, who idolized Samuel Eto’o in childhood when the Cameroonian star played for Mallorca, is now a hero in the country.
“The people of Equatorial Guinea are very grateful to him because you can see how much he loves his country. It’s incredible to have a person like him, and I hope he stays with us for a long time,” Micha told AFP.
Getting Better with Age
However, he will turn 35 this year, so could this be his last AFCON?
“My hero is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is older than me. I take care of my body a lot. I like to eat healthily. So, for me, I don’t think it will be the last because I feel better than when I was 20,” said Nsue.
Nsue’s versatility has been widely praised, as the player was converted into a full-back by Aitor Karanka at Middlesbrough, where he was promoted to the Premier League in 2016.
“After that, all coaches told me I could play anywhere. So, last year, I played as a center-back, right-back, forward, and midfielder,” he said.
“But with my national team, in these 12 years, I played as a forward. Almost my whole life, I played as a forward,” he recalled.
Nsue was one of seven members of Equatorial Guinea’s lineup against Ivory Coast born in Spain, the former colonial power.
Currently, Nsue plays for Intercity de Alicante in the Spanish third division, which defeated Barcelona in extra time in the Copa del Rey last season.
Nsue is in no hurry to leave his current environment, even if his profile has been boosted at AFCON.
“I am very happy. I am scoring goals. For me, football is not everything. Life in Alicante is very good, the weather is very good, and for me, at 34, that is important,” he said.
“You never know, maybe tomorrow someone will come with an irresistible offer, but I don’t think too much about it,” he concluded.
