World governing body, FIFA, has banned Equatorial Guinea striker, Emilio Nsue for six months, declaring him ineligible to play in his country’s first two qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The 34-year-old forward scored the decisive goals in the matches against Namibia and Liberia last November. However, a FIFA disciplinary committee determined that Nsue was ineligible for “several” international matches, resulting in the forfeiture of both World Cup qualifiers, awarding 3-0 victories to Namibia and Liberia. Additionally, the Equatoguinean Football Federation (Feguifut) has been fined 150,000 Swiss francs ($164,000, £129,000). Nsue who is a former youth international for Spain, is now banned from playing for any national team for six months.
FIFA did not provide further details on the ruling. A Feguifut official revealed that they were investigating the case and had not received official notification from FIFA. According to FIFA, all parties have 10 days to request a “motivated decision,” and the sanctions are subject to appeal.
Nsue was previously ruled ineligible by FIFA in 2013 after his initial appearances for Equatorial Guinea in World Cup qualifiers. He had played for Spain’s youth teams, including the Under-21 European Championship in 2011. Since then, he has become Equatorial Guinea’s record goalscorer, participating in qualifiers for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and appearing in three Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Nsue has had club stints with Mallorca, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, as well as in Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He currently plays for Intercity in Spain’s third tier, with their final game of the campaign scheduled for Saturday. The six-point deduction is a significant setback for Equatorial Guinea’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder) were second in Group H, trailing leaders, Tunisia on goal difference. The deduction would drop them to fifth in the six-team group.
The group winners will secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup finals, while the second-placed team will enter the African play-offs for a chance to compete in an inter-confederation tournament to decide the final two spots at the tournament. Equatorial Guinea is set to face Tunisia and Malawi in qualifiers next month.
