The host team qualified to the quarter-finals after gaining five points out of three matches in the group stage.  Ecuatorial Guinea made their debut in the CAN with a 1-1 draw against Democratic Republic of the Congo.  They went on to face the reigning runners-up, Burkina Faso which ended in a goalless draw, and defeated Gabon yesterday by 2-0 which saw them qualify to the quarter-finals.
 
Embela, who made his debut for his country’s first team in an Africa Cup of Nations friendly preparation match against Cabo Verde (1-1), hasn’t played any official games as yet.  The starting goalkeeper in the group stage was Felipe Ovono, an Ecuatorial Guinea international since 2011.
 
The youth academy goalkeeper joins former ‘Malaguista’ Pablo Ganet in Ecuatorial Guinea, who currently plays for San Sebastián de los Reyes, and who was in the starting-11 in the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations, playing for the first 45 minutes.