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The victory not only secured their qualification but also marked their fourth appearance in the AFCON since making their tournament debut in 2012.
Equatorial Guinea clinched their spot at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, with a gritty 1-0 win against Tunisia at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo in Malabo on Saturday.
The victory not only secured their qualification but also marked their fourth appearance in the AFCON since making their tournament debut in 2012.
Equatorial Guinea's qualification was confirmed just hours after Zambia stunned tournament hosts Ivory Coast to also book their place in the prestigious tournament.
The Nzalang Nacional became the 10th nation to secure qualification, joining the likes of defending champions Ivory Coast, Morocco, South Africa and Algeria to prevail from the qualifiers.
Having entered the match needing only a single point to secure their AFCON qualification, Equatorial Guinea faced a determined Tunisia side that had already secured their place in the tournament.
The first half saw limited scoring opportunities for both teams, resulting in a tight and closely contested affair.
As the second half commenced, the match continued to be a scrappy affair, with only sporadic moments of excitement provided by a few set pieces.
One such moment occurred when Miranda's strike for the Nzalang Nacional took a deflection, briefly igniting hope among the home supporters.
However, it was in the 81st minute that Equatorial Guinea finally broke the deadlock. Miranda was fouled by Kechrida inside the box, resulting in a penalty for the Central Africans.
Emilio Nsue, the captain of Equatorial Guinea, stepped up to take the spot-kick and calmly converted it, sending the stadium into jubilation.
The goal not only secured victory for Equatorial Guinea but also served as a measure of revenge after their 4-0 defeat to Tunisia in the first leg.
Equatorial Guinea have never won the AFCON, but reached the semi-finals in 2015 as hosts. They also reached the quarter finals in Cameroon 2021.
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