Goalkeeper Jesús Owono dropped from AFCON 2027 qualifiers
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SABC News
Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Jesús Owono will miss the next 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches after the death of Spanish striker Jesús de Miguel, with whom he collided. Equatorial Guinea will face Zimbabwe on 12 and 16 November, according to its football federation.
Jesús Owono, Equatorial Guinea’s first-choice goalkeeper, will not play in the two Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifying matches against Zimbabwe on 12 and 16 November. The Equatorial Guinea Football Federation announced on Thursday that he had withdrawn from the squad following the death of Spanish striker Jesús de Miguel, with whom he had been involved in a collision in Spain’s second division, according to SABC News.
Owono was due to face Zimbabwe in Bata on 12 November and then in Harare on 16 November. Aged 25, he has been Equatorial Guinea’s first-choice goalkeeper since his adolescence and had played in the last three AFCON finals. He had also been in goal for the first two qualifying matches for the 2027 edition, in September.
The goalkeeper said he was going through “the most difficult days” of his life and could think only of Jesús de Miguel and the pain caused by his death. After receiving messages calling him a “murderer”, he deactivated his Instagram account, while the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation expressed its support for him. His distress following Jesús de Miguel’s death had already been reported on 3 November, before the federation’s official support on 5 November.
