The phenomenon Emilio Nsue: top scorer of the Africa Cup is actually a defender from the third division

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The continent’s biggest stars will appear at the Africa Cup, such as Victor Osimhen (Nigeria/Napoli), Sadio Mané (Senegal/Al-Nassr) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool).

But at this year’s edition, an unknown is currently stealing the show from the big names. Or does the name Emilio Nsue mean anything to you?

At 34 years old, Nsue is a long-time veteran. He normally plays as a right back in Spain’s third highest division. However, he plays as a striker for his country Equatorial Guinea. And Nsue shows the best qualities of a photographer.

Nsue scored five goals in three games in the preliminary round for “Nzalang”, as the Equatorial Guinean squad is called by their fans (German: “Thunder”). He followed up a hat-trick on matchday two against Mozambique (4:2) with a brace in the furious 4-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast on Monday.

Best yield since 1970

Nsue almost single-handedly carries his country to the round of 16 – as group winners ahead of heavyweights Nigeria and Ivory Coast. Nsue and his team have also brought the greatest shame in history to the Ivorians; on home soil, the tournament organizer is now on the brink of elimination.

The third division defender of CF Intercity, a club from Alicante, also breaks a number of records. He is the oldest player to ever score a hat-trick at the Africa Cup of Nations. Furthermore, his five goals in the preliminary round are the second-best tally in the tournament’s history; only one player has ever scored more goals in the group stage (Laurent Poku, seven goals, 1970).

New holiday for the national team

“We have made history,” Nsue told the cameras after the resounding victory over Ivory Coast. In the small country, wedged between Cameroon and Gabon, there is euphoria among the 1.6 million inhabitants thanks to the ‘Nzalang’.

Ruler Teodoro Obiang is now also enthusiastic and has declared January 23, the day after the glorious victory over Ivory Coast, a national holiday. He also promises the new national heroes a million dollars as a reward.

“I have a very good momentum at the moment,” says Nsue, explaining his top form. Things are also going smoothly within the club. After adventures in England, Cyprus and Bosnia, he has found his home in Alicante, where he also leads the team’s top scorer list with seven goals. But Nsue doesn’t want to think about winning the tournament. ‘We do it step by step. We remain sober.”

Source : Blick