"To the surprise of many, football's world governing body declared in May 2024 that Nsue was ineligible to play for Equatorial Guinea despite the forward having appeared regularly for the national side over the previous decade. At the time, Fifa said it was "comfortably satisfied" that Nsue - who had won the golden boot at the Africa Cup of Nations just three months earlier - had never received clearance to formalise his switch from Spain, who he had represented at youth level."
"After Fifa officially cleared Nsue to play for the Equatoguineans in March this year, the country's football federation (Feguifut) appealed for the return of the six World Cup qualifying points it had forfeited. Such a scenario would have been crucial to Equatorial Guinea's hopes of reaching the a first World Cup, given they would have moved from fifth place up to second in Group H, whose automatic berth for the 2026 finals has already been secured by Tunisia."
"However, the ruling by Cas, sport's highest legal body, means that second place in the group - which could secure qualification for a continental play-off round - remains in Namibia's hands. With just two qualifiers left, the Brave Warriors' 15 points are four better than Liberia, who have also benefited from Cas' decision. Malawi and Equatorial Guinea are both on 10 points, with all four of those nations still able to finish second in the group."
Equatorial Guinea beat Namibia and Liberia 1-0 in November 2023 with Emilio Nsue scoring the winners. FIFA later awarded technical 3-0 wins to Namibia and Liberia after declaring Nsue ineligible, saying he had never received clearance to formalise his switch from Spain despite a decade of appearances and a recent Africa Cup of Nations golden boot. FIFA officially cleared Nsue in March and Equatorial Guinea appealed for the return of six forfeited World Cup qualifying points. The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the appeal, leaving Namibia second in Group H with two qualifiers remaining.
Read at www.bbc.com
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