Former Middlesbrough and Birmingham full-back Emilio Nsue scored a record hat-trick as Equatorial Guinea on Thursday registered a comfortable 4-2 victory over Guinea-Bissau in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The 34-year-old who is also the captain of Equatorial Guinea scored the first treble at an AFCON since 2008.
Nsue opened the scoring in 21 minutes of play to hand the Nzalang Nacional an early lead and added two more goals in the second half in a remarkable performance.
Emilio Nsue scored the first Africa Cup of Nations hat-trick since 2008 as Equatorial Guinea beat Guinea-Bissau 4-2 on Thursday to close in on a place in the last 16.
The result moves Equatorial Guinea who played a 1-1 draw against Nigeria in their opening game on Sunday top of Group A with four points.
Ivory Coast with three points will take the Super Eagles at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in their second Group A match on Thursday by 6 pm Nigeria time.
Nigeria, three-time champions must win Ivory Coast to avoid being knocked out in the group stage
Guinea-Bissau, beaten by hosts Ivory Coast in their opening match, equalised after 37 minutes when Mauro Rodrigues sent a low cross into the box and defender Esteban turned the ball into his net.
Moments later Guinea-Bissau were awarded a penalty after Saul Coco appeared to bring down Franculino Dju in the area, but the decision was overturned by VAR.
With the four best third-placed teams advancing to the last 16, the Nzalang Nacional are ideally placed to progress as they look to emulate their run to the quarter-finals two years ago.
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