By NDI EUGENE NDI

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Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbatsogo has declared Tuesday a public holiday to celebrate the 4-0 victory of the national team against star-studded Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2023 host Cote d’Ivoire on Monday.

The Nzalang Nacional stunned the football world with an exhilarating performance thrashing the Elephants in the last Group A game played at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe in Abidjan as lowly ranked teams continue to cause upsets at the continental tournament.

Captain Emilio Nsue netted a brace while goals from Pablo Ganet and Jannick Bulya increased the tally to four for the Equatoguineans, a seismic victory that saw the Nzalang Nacional finish top of the group, though on level seven points like second-placed Nigeria.

Read: E.Guinea crush I.Coast in huge Afcon shock, Egypt edge through

Cameroonians in the capital Yaounde celebrated the victory of their neighbours over the hosts just as if it were the national team of the five-time African champions.

Cote d’Ivoire’s Ibrahim Sangare equalised twice when the Elephants were just one goal down but both goals were denied by VAR and the Elephants would later miss several clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

Ivory Coast's midfielder Ibrahim Sangare (C) fights for the ball with Equatorial Guinea's midfielder Jannick Buyla (L) during the Africa Cup of Nations 2024 group A football match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on January 22, 2024. PHOTO | AFP

Special bonus

Besides declaring a public holiday to celebrate the victory, Nguema who watched the game from his Palacio Presidencial de Malabo (the State House), also offered the team a €1 million ($1.09 million) special bonus for the match.

Equatorial Guinea’s best Afcon performance was reaching the semi-finals as hosts in 2015 when Cote d’Ivoire won their second crown.

Their demolition of one of Africa’s football giants has been one of the most unexpected upsets created by the minnows and described by the country’s authorities as the final.

Read: Why Ivory Coast is the team to beat at 2024 Afcon

Equatorial Guinea Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue also offered the team €200,000 ($218,000) for the four goals scored against Cote d'Ivoire - one goal equalling €50,000 ($54,000). He announced on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle after the match that he had spoken to the players to encourage them.

“For me, the match against Ivory Coast is like a final. That is why I wished them luck and promised to incentivise them with €50,000 per goal scored in our favour,” Obiang Mangue, who is fondly called Teodorín said.

The humiliating defeat of the Elephants means the host who finished third with three points will have to rely on results from other groups to hope for qualification as the four best third-placed sides across the six groups will progress to the knockout stages.

Equatoguinean coach Juan Micha told a post-match press conference that they capitalised on the pressure of their opponents in their game strategy which produced the expected result.

He further said they are focused and working to reach the level of the football powerhouses on the continent.

“What we want is to believe in ourselves and try to win every time," the coach said as the unprecedented stunning of the host will be a booster for the team to continue their giant-killing run when they face one of the third-placed sides in the last 16 on Sunday.