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The Guinea-Bissau national football team hopes to cross the threshold of the group stage for the first time in its history, during its participation in the 2023 African Nations Championship.
The postponed 34th edition of the tournament will be held in Ivory Coast between January 13 and February 11 of next year.
The Foxes team will compete in the finals in Group A, alongside the teams of Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast, the host country of the tournament.
History of the Guinea-Bissau national team
The Guinea-Bissau Football Federation was founded in 1974, and joined the African Confederation in 1986, and in the same year it gained membership in the International Federation of Associations (FIFA). The game federation is headed by Manuel Lopez.
The team, which was known as “Portuguese Guinea”, played its first international match on June 2, 1952 against the British Gambia national team (now Gambia), and won 3-1.
The team participated for the first time in the African Cup of Nations in 2017 in Gabon, and did not advance beyond the group stage, and met the same fate in its next two participations in 2019 and 2021.
Guinea-Bissau currently ranks 103rd in the FIFA rankings (November 2023), while 68th was the best in its career.
Guinea-Bissau national team and the African Cup
The Guinea-Bissau national team is preparing to participate in the African Cup of Nations for the fourth time in a row, and it did not miss the finals in the past three editions (2017, 2019 and 2021), but its participation always ends at the group stage.
The team scored only two goals in 3 appearances, while conceding 12 goals.
The most prominent players in the history of the Guinea-Bissau national team
The Guinea-Bissau national team has had a number of prominent players, such as:
- Mamadou Candy.
- Zizinho.
- Prima Mani.
- Bakar baldi.
- Nando Ko, the team’s all-time top scorer (9 goals).
The most prominent current Guinea-Bissau players
The Guinea-Bissau national team is counting on a group of players, including:
- Bekete Djasi, Najran Saudi striker (7 goals in 40 international matches).
- Mamadi Kamara, English player for Reading.
- Mama Baldi, French Olympique Lyonnais striker.
That touch to control the ball 😳
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau’s Mame Baldé stun Nigeria 💥#TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 pic.twitter.com/WDFkn7GQTu
— CAF (@CAF_Online) April 11, 2023
Coach of the Guinea-Bissau national team
Basserou Kande, a former player in the Guinean League, supervised the training of his country’s national team in two separate periods, the first was between 2003-2010 and the second began in March 2016.
Candy (56 years old) led the “Foxes” in 13 official and friendly matches, winning 4 matches, drawing 4 and losing 5. Under his supervision, the team scored 11 goals, and conceded 18 goals.
Football Federation of Guinea-Bissau has extended Baciro Cande’s contract with a further 4 years. Cande has been in charge as a coach of the Djurtus since 2016. The new deal will see Baciro Cande stay until 2024. pic.twitter.com/4Odkc4FolF
— African Soccer Updates (@Africansoccerup) March 26, 2020
“Foxes” matches in the first group of the African Cup of Nations
- Saturday 13 January 2024: Ivory Coast x Guinea Bissau.
- Thursday 18 January: Equatorial Guinea x Guinea Bissau.
- Monday 22 January: Nigeria x Guinea Bissau.
The Foxes will play all their matches in the group stage at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in the capital, Abidjan.
