Jesus de Miguel: Jesus Owono excluded from Equatorial Guinea squad after death of Tenerife player

Goalkeeper Jesus Owono will miss Equatorial Guinea’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers this month following the death of Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel.

De Miguel, 30, died after being seriously injured in a collision with Owono during a Spanish second division match on Monday.

Owono said he was experiencing “the most difficult days of my life” in a statement released by his club FC Andorra on Wednesday, adding that it was “very difficult to accept what happened.”

The Equatoguinean Football Federation (Feguifut) said the 25-year-old had requested to be left out of coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese’s team.

Feguifut president Venancio Tomas Micha previously said his organization offered “all our human and professional support” to the player.

Owono has been the National Thunder’s first choice goalkeeper since November 2020 and has featured in the last three Afcons.

Equatorial Guinea will face Zimbabwe in a double-header in Group E, with a home match in Bata on Thursday, November 12 before a trip to Harare four days later.

Both teams are tied on three points after two rounds of matches, with DR Congo top of the table with six points and Sierra Leone useless at the bottom of the table.