Goalkeeper Jesús Owono of FC Andorra will not join the Equatorial Guinea national team for the CAN 2027 qualifier against Zimbabwe. Head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese confirms a decision taken by the player.
Equatorial Guinea will face Zimbabwe without Jesús Owono. The 25-year-old goalkeeper, who plays for FC Andorra, will not join the national team for this CAN 2027 qualifier, according to Juanfutbol. The information was confirmed by head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese.
The keeper has not been dropped: he himself took the decision not to join the squad. His absence comes after the death of Jesús de Miguel, the forward who died following a violent collision between the two players on Monday 2 November in Tenerife.
A decision taken by the player
“Owono estará ausente por decisión del propio jugador. Ha obtenido permiso de la Federación Ecuatoguineana y del entrenador para no unirse a la selección en estos dos partidos internacionales,” Vincenzo Alberto Annese told Juanfutbol. In other words, the absence is the player’s own choice, with the agreement of the federation and the staff.
According to the head coach, Owono wants to stay with his club, Andorra, to keep his starting place and his competitive level: “Owono ha expresado su deseo de permanecer con su club, el Andorra, con el objetivo de mantener su titularidad y su nivel competitivo,” he continues, again according to Juanfutbol.
No other explanation is put forward in the case, which does not explicitly link this decision to the Tenerife tragedy.
Mourning after the death of Jesús de Miguel
Jesús de Miguel died after a violent collision between the two players, which occurred on Monday 2 November in Tenerife. On 4 November, FC Andorra published a statement in which Owono expresses his grief.
“Estos están siendo los días más difíciles de mi vida. Me cuesta encontrar las palabras y me resulta muy difícil asimilar nada de lo que ha pasado,” writes the goalkeeper in the text, relayed by Juanfutbol. In it, he says he cannot find the words.
According to the same source, Owono has also shut down his social media accounts in the face of a flood of insults.
A match without their goalkeeper
On the pitch, Equatorial Guinea will have to make do without their goalkeeper for these two international matches, including the meeting with Zimbabwe in the race for CAN 2027. The name of his replacement is not specified in the available information.
Owono therefore stays at Andorra, where he wants to keep his place and his competitive rhythm. The case does not specify the date of the meeting with Zimbabwe.