AFCON 2023 – Eq. Guinea 4-2 Guinea-Bissau: Emilio Nsue hat-trick sends National Thunder past Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire

The National Thunder flew straight to the top of Group A after an emphatic win in Thursday's first match

Equatorial Guinea are the new Group A leaders after the National Thunder forced a 4-1 defeat down the throat of Guinea-Bissau at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports.

Emilio Nsue was the outstanding star of the encounter as he smashed home three goals to engineer his side's first win at Cote d'Ivoire 2023.

Buoyed by their impressive 1-1 draw against African powerhouse Nigeria on matchday one, Equatorial Guinea were the better side in the opening exchanges.

Nsue made their dominance count early when he opened the scoring in the 21st minute. However, things turned on their heads when Orozco Fernandez put through his own goal for a Guinea-Bissau equaliser shortly before the halftime break.

Equatorial Guinea rediscovered their momentum after the interval as Josete Miranda and Nsue scored twice in five minutes to establish their superiority.

Nsue then combined with Jose Machin on the hour mark to become the first player to score a hat-trick at AFCON 2023.

Substitute Ze Turbo scored in stoppage time for the Djurtus, but it was mere consolation.

With the win, Equatorial Guinea now boast four points from their two games and have overtaken Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire to top Group A.

Hosts Cote d'Ivoire are second with three points earned from their 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on matchday one, while Nigeria have one point. Guinea-Bissau, who have now conceded the most goals at the tournament (six goals), are without a point. 

Nigeria's Super Eagles will trade tackles next with the Ivorians, knowing that a defeat can spell doom for their AFCON ambitions.