Gabon national football team

Gabon
Nickname(s) Les Panthères
(The Panthers)
Association Fédération Gabonaise de Football
Sub-confederation UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Jorge Costa
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Most caps Didier Ovono (76)
Top scorer Théodore Zué Nguéma (19)
Home stadium Stade Omar Bongo
FIFA code GAB
FIFA ranking 55 Decrease 1 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 30 (July 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking 125 (April 2005)
Elo ranking 88 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 63 (November 1996)
Lowest Elo ranking 123 (June 2004)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Upper Volta 5–4 Gabon 
(Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
 Gabon 7–0 Benin 
(Libreville, Gabon; 2 April 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Cameroon 6–0 Gabon 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 26 December 1961)
 Morocco 6–0 Gabon 
(Rabat, Morocco; 15 November 2006)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 6 (First in 1994)
Best result Quarter-finals: 1996 & 2012

The Gabon national football team, nicknamed Les Panthères (The Panthers), is the national team of Gabon and is controlled by the Fédération Gabonaise de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals, but have qualified five times for the Africa Cup of Nations.[1]

History

Gabon made its debut in April 1960 by entering the L'Amitié tournament for French-speaking countries, held in Madagascar. They played in the first round on 13 April against the Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), who were also making their debut,[2] and lost 5-4. They did not play another match until the next time the tournament was staged, in April 1963 in Senegal. and were drawn in a group with the Upper Volta, France's amateur team, and the Gambia. They opened on 11 April by defeating the Upper Volta 4-0, and then lost 3-0 to the French team two days later. On 15 April, Gabon drew 2-2 against the Gambia and was knocked out.

After the 1962 tournament in Senegal, Gabon did not play a match until August 1965, when they hosted two friendlies against Nigeria, drawing 2-2 on 28 August and losing 4-1 the next day. In 1967, Gabon entered qualification for the football at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Japan, and was drawn in a two-legged qualifier versus Guinea. They drew the first leg 0-0 at home on 18 June but lost 6-1 away on 9 July and were knocked out.

Following the Olympic qualifiers, Gabon played a friendly in Dahomey (now Benin) on 24 August 1969 and lost 1-0. In November 1970 they entered their first African Cup of Nations qualifier for the 1972 tournament in Ethiopia and were put into a two-legged qualifier versus the Ivory Coast. Gabon lost their home leg 2-1 on 8 November, and after losing 1-0 on 22 November in the Ivory Coast were knocked out. On 19 June 1971, Gabon hosted a qualifier for the football at the 1972 Summer Olympics in West Germany, and were knocked out after losing 3-2 to Cameroon.[3]

In the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Gabon upset Cameroon 1-0 and had a good chance of progressing to the quarter-finals after a scoreless draw against Tunisia. However, Gabon lost 2-1 to Zambia as it finished in its group with a three-way tie with Zambia and Cameroon. Gabon only scored twice in the group stage and were eliminated on the goals scored tiebreaker. In 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Gabon co-hosted the tournament as it won their group matches: 2-0 against Niger, 3-2 against Morocco, and 1-0 against Tunisia. The second match saw Gabon qualify for its first quarter-final since 1996 in the most dramatic circumstances. Gabon had come back to lead 2-1 only for Tunisia to tie the match in early in stoppage time. However, on the final play of the game, Gabon scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Eventually, Gabon lost 5-4 in penalties (1-1 a.e.t) in the quarterfinal against Mali, after a penalty missed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had scored three goals in the tournament.

Gabon began its 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign in the second round in Group E as it was drawn with Niger, Burkina Faso, and Congo. Despite opening its campaign with a scoreless draw against Niger, Gabon lost 3-0 due to having fielded ineligible player Charly Moussono. After four qualifiers, Gabon scored only one goal, but thanks to an Aubameyang hat-trick on June 15, 2013, Gabon stayed in contention for a play-off berth with a 4-1 victory over Niger. However, Burkina Faso eliminated Gabon in the final qualifier with the 1-0 result as Gabon finished third in its group.

For the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Gabon has been drawn to qualify against Togo. Even though Daniel Cousin scored in each leg against Togo, Gabon missed out on the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as it lost 3-2 on aggregate. A year later, Gabon played six qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as it was drawn with Burkina Faso, Angola and Lesotho. Despite a stunning 1-1 result in Lesotho in qualifying, Gabon finished ahead of Burkina Faso to top the group as it qualified for the tournament with a game to spare in Angola. In January 2015, Gabon was drawn along with Burkina Faso, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. However, its 2-0 victory on the opening day of the tournament were all the points Gabon achieved during the tournament as it suffered a shocking exit in the group stage.


Honours

UNIFAC Cup :

UDEAC Championship :

CEMAC Cup :

Competition records

World Cup record

Africa Cup of Nations record

  • 1957 to 1970 – Did not enter
  • 1972 – Did not qualify
  • 1974 – Withdrew
  • 1976 – Did not enter
  • 1978 – Did not qualify
  • 1980 – Did not enter
  • 1982 - Withdrew
  • 1984 to 1992 – Did not qualify
  • 1994 – Group Stage
  • 1996 – Quarter-finals
  • 1998 – Did not qualify
  • 2000 – Group Stage
  • 2002 to 2008 – Did not qualify
  • 2010 – Group Stage
  • 2012 – Quarter-finals
  • 2013 – Did not qualify
  • 2015 – Group Stage
  • 2017 – Qualified

Current squad

The final squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was announced on 28 December 2014.[4] Midfielder Mario Lemina refused his call-up. He was replaced by Sokambi. [5] Caps and goals updated as 25 January, 2015 after match against Equatorial Guinea.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Didier Ovono 23 January 1983 76 0 Belgium Oostende
16 GK Anthony Mfa Mezui 7 March 1991 1 0 France Metz
23 GK Yves Bitséki 23 April 1983 11 0 Gabon Bitam
2 DF Aaron Appindangoyé 2 February 1992 18 1 Gabon Mounana
4 DF Yrondu Musavu-King 8 January 1992 8 0 France Caen
5 DF Bruno Ecuele Manga 16 July 1988 47 5 Wales Cardiff City
6 DF Johann Obiang 5 July 1993 7 0 France Châteauroux
8 DF Lloyd Palun 28 November 1988 26 0 France Nice
14 DF Randal Oto’o 23 May 1994 4 0 Portugal Braga
15 DF Henri Junior Ndong 23 August 1992 8 0 France Auxerre
19 DF Benjamin Zé Ondo 18 June 1987 7 0 Algeria ES Sétif
11 MF Lévy Madinda 11 June 1992 29 4 Spain Celta
12 MF Guélor Kanga 1 September 1990 16 0 Russia Rostov
13 MF Samson Mbingui 9 February 1992 16 2 Algeria MC El Eulma
17 MF André Poko 7 March 1993 29 1 France Bordeaux
18 MF Alexander N'Doumbou 4 January 1992 6 0 France Marseille
20 MF Bonaventure Sokambi 1 January 1992 9 2 Algeria ASO Chlef
22 MF Ibrahim N'Dong 17 June 1994 13 0 France Lorient
3 FW Johann Lengoualama 29 September 1992 11 1 Morocco Difaâ El Jadidi
7 FW Malick Evouna 28 November 1992 12 6 Morocco Wydad Casablanca
9 FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 18 June 1989 38 14 Germany Borussia Dortmund
10 FW Frédéric Bulot 27 September 1990 10 0 England Charlton Athletic
21 FW Romaric Rogombé 25 November 1990 16 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Gabon squad within the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Boris-Claude Nguéma 7 December 1984 6 0 Gabon Mounana v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
GK Victorien Otiomo 24 March 1989 1 0 Gabon Missile v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
DF Rodrigue Moundounga 28 August 1982 55 1 Gabon Mounana v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
DF Georges Ambourouet 1 May 1986 40 1 Gabon Mounana v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
DF Erwin Nguéma 7 March 1989 14 1 Gabon Bitam v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
DF Muller Dinda 22 September 1995 3 0 Gabon Missile v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
DF Yann Gnassa 1 0 Gabon Sapins v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Mario Lemina 1 September 1993 0 0 France Marseille 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary squad
MF Franck Engonga 26 July 1993 12 0 Gabon Mounana v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Emmanuel Ndong 4 May 1992 7 0 Gabon Bitam v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Cédric Boussoughou 20 July 1991 6 0 Tunisia Olympique Béja v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Knox Ness-Younga 27 April 1994 3 0 Gabon Mounana v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Cédric Biyoghé 17 August 1994 1 0 Gabon Cercle Mbéri Sportif v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Wombo Biteghe 0 0 Gabon Missile v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
MF Amédée Moanda 1 0 Gabon Bongoville v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
FW Romuald Ntsitsigui 8 April 1991 8 0 Gabon Mangasport v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
FW Arnold Yembi 6 1 Gabon Cercle Mbéri Sportif v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
FW Lionel Yacouya 12 July 1990 6 0 Gabon Bitam v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014
FW Laurys Ndong Meye 0 0 Gabon Bongoville v.  Rwanda, 12 July 2014

Coaches

References

  1. ↑ 2. "Gabon make an impact by Firdose Moonda". Espn Fc. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  2. ↑ "Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) - List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "CAN 2015: Les 23 du Gabon avec Aubameyang et Ecuele Manga" (in French). africatopsports.com. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "2015 Nations Cup: Sokambi replaces Lemina in Gabon squad". bbc.com. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.

External links

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