Owono Misses Equatorial Guinea Qualifiers After Tenerife Player's Death
Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Jesus Owono will miss his country's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this month. He asked to be left out of the squad after a collision that left Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel dead.
De Miguel was 30. He suffered a serious injury when he collided with Owono during a Spanish second division match between Andorra and Tenerife on Monday. Reuters reported that an Andorra teammate defended Owono after the incident. CD Tenerife has since announced De Miguel's death in an official statement.
Owono is 25 and plays for Andorra. In a statement issued by FC Andorra, he said he is going through "the most difficult days of my life." He has been Equatorial Guinea's first-choice goalkeeper since November 2020, and he has played at the last three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
The qualifiers are the matches that decide which teams reach the continent's flagship tournament. Equatorial Guinea coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese has named a 25-player squad for a double-header against Zimbabwe, meaning two games in the same group. BBC Sport reports that the first match takes place in Bata on Thursday 12 November, with the return fixture in Harare four days later.
The home game will be played at the Estadio de Nkoantoma in Bata after the Confederation of African Football and FIFA, the sport's world governing body, granted the country temporary permission to use the ground. The federation's president, Venancio Tomas Micha, announced the decision at a press conference in Malabo on 30 October.
The national federation, FEGUIFUT, published a condolence note on 3 November. It offered sympathy to CD Tenerife and solidarity to Owono.
