sport.wikisort.org - Team

The Gabon national football team (French: Équipe de football du Gabon) represents Gabon in men's international football. The team's nickname is The Panthers and it is governed by the Gabonese Football Federation. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but have qualified eight times (as of 2021) for the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Gabon

Nickname(s)	Les Panthères (The Panthers)
Association	Gabonese Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Patrice Neveu
Captain	Bruno Ecuele Manga
Most caps	Didier Ovono (112)
Top scorer	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (30)
Home stadium	Stade d'Angondjé
FIFA code	GAB
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	81 2 (6 October 2022)[1]
Highest	30 (July 2009)
Lowest	125 (April–May 2003)
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	8 (first in 1994)
Best result	Quarter-finals, 1996 and 2012

History

1960s

Gabon made their debut on 13 April 1960 by entering the first Friendship Games (Jeux de L'Amitié) tournament, created for French-speaking African countries (a precursor to the modern African Games), held in Antananarivo, Madagascar. In the First Round they were drawn against Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), who were also making their debut, and lost 5–4, despite leading 3–2 at half-time.[2][3][4] They did not play another match for over a year and a half, until the next time the tournament was staged, in December 1961 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.[2] They were drawn in Pool 3 alongside Cameroon and Senegal. Gabon began the tournament with a 3–2 defeat to Senegal on Christmas Day, before being thrashed 6–0 by Cameroon on Boxing Day, finishing bottom of their group.[5] A few months after the tournament, the Gabonese Football Federation (Federation Gabonaise de Football) was formed to officially oversee the development of the national team and the domestic game.[6] The new association would not have to wait long for their first win, as in their very next match on 14 July 1962 they defeated the Congo 3–1 in their first match on home soil. They played 2 more matches in 1962, a 1–1 home draw with Cameroon on 20 August, a vast improvement over their previous meeting, and a 3–1 away defeat to the Congo on 16 September, before entering the third and final Friendship Games held in April 1963 in Dakar, Senegal.[2] They were drawn in Group C, along with British Gambia, the France amateur team, and Upper Volta. They opened on 12 April with a strong 4–0 win over Upper Volta, but were comfortably beaten 3–0 by the French amateurs 2 days later. They drew their final game 2–2 with British Gambia on 16 April and finished 2nd in the group, a marked improvement over their previous 2 appearances at the tournament; however only the group winners progressed and therefore Gabon were eliminated.[7] A few months later, Gabon entered qualification for the 1966 FIFA World Cup held in England. However, on 8 October 1964 they withdrew from the competition, along with all the other African entrants, in protest at FIFA's decision to only award 1 finals place to all of Africa, Asia and Oceania.[8][9]

As a result of this boycott, Gabon did not play another match for over two years until August 1965, when they hosted a friendly double-header against Nigeria, drawing 2–2 on 28 August and losing 4–1 the next day. At the 35th FIFA Congress held in London, England on 6 July 1966, Gabon were officially admitted as full members of FIFA.[6] They played their next match on 2 December 1966 when they suffered a 4–3 defeat against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, before playing them again on 4 January 1967 at home, this time winning 1–0. They played one more friendly, a 3–0 home defeat to the Ivory Coast on 28 March, before entering qualification for the 1968 Olympic football tournament, held in Mexico.[10] In the First Round, they were drawn against Guinea with whom they drew the first leg 0–0 at home on 18 June, before being routed in the second leg 6–1, on 9 July.[11] In 1967, they also became full members of CAF.[12] Following on from the Olympic qualifiers, Gabon did not play another match for over two years until they travelled to Dahomey (now Benin) on 24 August 1969 to play a friendly, which they lost 1–0.[10]

1970s

Gabon then did not play for over a year, before entering qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time. Their attempt to qualify for the 1972 tournament held in Cameroon fell at the first hurdle however, as they were drawn against Ivory Coast in the First Round. They lost the first leg at home 2–1 on 8 November 1970, and were defeated 1–0 away two weeks later.[10] Gabon then entered qualification for the 1972 Olympic football tournament held in West Germany. In the First Round they were drawn against Cameroon. Having lost the first leg 3–2 in Libreville on 30 May 1971, Gabon forfeited the tie as they did not travel to Yaoundé to contest the return leg.[13] Following this ignominious exit, Gabon entered qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in West Germany, and were due to play Cameroon in the First Round the Summer of 1972, however they withdrew before the matches could be played.[14] As a result of this withdrawal, they did not play another match for over a year until they entered the football tournament at the 1972 Central African Cup (a precursor to the Central African Games) held in Brazzaville, Congo. The 5-team round robin tournament included, alongside Gabon; Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Congo, and Chad. They played their first match on 16 July against the Congo, losing 3–0. Two days later they were defeated 3–1 by the Central African Republic and on 20 July they were soundly beaten by Cameroon, 4–0. However they salvaged some pride by beating Chad 1–0 in their final match on 22 July to avoid the bottom spot. Furthermore, this tournament doubled up as a qualification group for the 1973 All-Africa Games football tournament, and as Gabon did not win the group, they failed to qualify.[15] A year later they entered qualification for the 1974 African Cup of Nations held in Egypt, and were due to play the Central African Republic in the summer of 1973, however they once again withdrew before a ball was kicked.[16]

As a result, Gabon did not play a single match for almost 4 years until they thrashed São Tomé and Príncipe 6–1 at home in a friendly in May 1976, which was São Tomé and Príncipe's first international match.[17] A few weeks later Gabon hosted the inaugural Central African Games. In the football tournament, they were drawn into Group B alongside Burundi, Cameroon and Rwanda. They played their opening match on 28 June, registering a convincing 4–1 win over Burundi. Then, on 1 July they played out a 1–1 draw against Zaire who had travelled to Gabon to play each team in Group B in a friendly capacity, and had not entered the competition proper. On 5 July Gabon gained another impressive victory, beating Rwanda 3–0. In their final group game on 7 July they held neighbours Cameroon to creditable 0–0 draw, thus securing 2nd place (having only missed out on the top spot via goal difference) and qualification for the Semi-Finals. On 9 July they faced Group A winners the Congo, and were narrowly beaten 1–0. However, two days later they managed to clinch 3rd place with a 3–1 victory of the Central African Republic, to put the seal on an impressive performance in their own tournament.[18] A year later, Gabon entered qualification for the 1978 African Cup of Nations held in Ghana. After being given a bye in the First Round, they were drawn against the Congo in the Second. They lost the first leg away 3–2 on 17 July 1977, and drew the second at home 3–3 on 31 July, losing 6–5 on aggregate.[19] Later that year, they entered a qualification tournament for the football competition at the 1978 All-Africa Games held in Algiers, Algeria. The qualification tournament for their zone, which was held in Cameroon, consisted of 2 groups, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the Semi-Finals. In Gabon's group (B) were Burundi, the Congo and Equatorial Guinea. They beat Equatorial Guinea 2–0 in their opening match on Christmas Eve, defeated the Congo 1–0 on Boxing Day and beat Burundi 2-0 two days later. With 3 wins out of 3, they topped their group and faced Group A runners-up Chad in the Semi-Finals to whom they lost 3–1 on New Year's Eve, and therefore failed to qualify, as only the tournament winner went to the finals.[20] A few months later in February 1978, they hosted a friendly against Nigeria, which they lost 1–0. In January 1979 they registered a 2–2 away draw against Rwanda, before defeating Ivory Coast 2–1 at home in April.

2010s

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 Morocco to tie the match in early stoppage time. However, on the final play of the game, Gabon scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time, from a direct free kick. 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.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021

2022

2023

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current squad

• The following 26 players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.[21]
• Match dates: 4 and 8 June 2022
• Opposition:  DR Congo and  Mauritania
• Caps and goals correct as of: 8 June 2022, after the match against  Mauritania

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Anthony Mfa Mezui	(1991-03-07) 7 March 1991 (age 31)	19	0	Rodange
	1GK	Jean-Noël Amonome	(1997-12-24) 24 December 1997 (age 24)	11	0	AmaZulu
	1GK	Donald Nzé	(1992-04-05) 5 April 1992 (age 30)	3	0	Maniema Union
	2DF	Bruno Ecuele Manga	(1988-07-16) 16 July 1988 (age 34)	96	9	Free agent
	2DF	Lloyd Palun	(1988-11-28) 28 November 1988 (age 33)	73	0	Bastia
	2DF	Aaron Appindangoyé	(1992-02-20) 20 February 1992 (age 30)	56	2	Sivasspor
	2DF	Johann Obiang	(1993-07-05) 5 July 1993 (age 29)	44	0	Caen
	2DF	Junior Assoumou	(1995-07-22) 22 July 1995 (age 27)	16	0	Granville
	2DF	Anthony Oyono	(2001-04-12) 12 April 2001 (age 21)	10	0	Frosinone
	2DF	Yoann Wachter	(1992-04-07) 7 April 1992 (age 30)	10	0	Saint-Pryvé
	2DF	Alex Moucketou-Moussounda	(2000-10-10) 10 October 2000 (age 22)	9	1	Aris Limassol
	2DF	David Sambissa	(1996-01-11) 11 January 1996 (age 26)	5	0	Cambuur
	2DF	Yannis N'Gakoutou	(1998-09-30) 30 September 1998 (age 24)	4	0	Free agent
	2DF	Jacques Ekomié	(2003-08-19) 19 August 2003 (age 19)	0	0	Bordeaux
	3MF	André Biyogo Poko	(1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 (age 29)	76	3	Al-Khaleej
	3MF	Guélor Kanga	(1990-08-01) 1 August 1990 (age 32)	60	2	Red Star Belgrade
	3MF	Louis Ameka	(1996-10-03) 3 October 1996 (age 26)	26	0	Maghreb de Fès
	3MF	Serge-Junior Martinsson Ngouali	(1992-01-23) 23 January 1992 (age 30)	15	0	Sarpsborg
	3MF	Medwin Biteghé	(1996-09-01) 1 September 1996 (age 26)	8	0	Al-Sahel
	4FW	Denis Bouanga	(1994-11-11) 11 November 1994 (age 28)	32	7	Los Angeles FC
	4FW	Axel Méyé	(1995-06-06) 6 June 1995 (age 27)	32	2	Raja Casablanca
	4FW	Aaron Boupendza	(1996-08-07) 7 August 1996 (age 26)	28	5	Al-Shabab
	4FW	Jim Allevinah	(1995-02-27) 27 February 1995 (age 27)	17	4	Clermont
	4FW	Kévin Mayi	(1993-01-14) 14 January 1993 (age 29)	5	0	Denizlispor
	4FW	Shavy Babicka	(2000-06-01) 1 June 2000 (age 22)	1	1	Aris Limassol
	4FW	Alan Do Marcolino	(2002-03-19) 19 March 2002 (age 20)	1	0	Rennes

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Gabon in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Gilchrist Nguema	(1996-08-07) 7 August 1996 (age 26)	6	0	Free agent	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
DF	Sidney Obissa	(2000-05-04) 4 May 2000 (age 22)	7	0	Villefranche	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
MF	Didier Ndong	(1994-05-17) 17 May 1994 (age 28)	41	0	Dijon	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
MF	Mario Lemina	(1993-09-01) 1 September 1993 (age 29)	25	3	Nice	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022RET
MF	Nathanael Mbourou	(1996-08-24) 24 August 1996 (age 26)	2	0	Dinamo-Auto	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
MF	Lévy Madinda	(1992-06-11) 11 June 1992 (age 30)	56	6	Johor DT	v.  Egypt, 16 November 2021
FW	Gaëtan Missi Mezu	(1996-05-04) 4 May 1996 (age 26)	9	0	Cholet	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW	Fahd Ndzengue	(2000-07-07) 7 July 2000 (age 22)	3	0	Tabor Sežana	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW	Ulrick Eneme Ella	(2001-05-22) 22 May 2001 (age 21)	4	0	Angers	v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	(1989-06-18) 18 June 1989 (age 33)	72	30	Chelsea	2021 Africa Cup of NationsRET
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player has retired from international football. SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

As of 8 June 2022[22]

Players in bold are still active with Gabon.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Didier Ovono	112	0	2003–2019
2	François Amégasse	110	9	1984–2000
3	Bruno Ecuélé Manga	96	9	2007–present
4	Etienne Kassa-Ngoma	92	7	1985–1997
5	Cédric Moubamba	86	2	1998–2012
6	Valéry Ondo	80	12	1988–2001
7	Nzué Nguema	77	23	1995–2005
8	André Biyogo Poko	76	3	2010–present
9	Lloyd Palun	73	3	2011–present
10	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	72	30	2009–2022
	Germain Mendome	72	0	1988–2000

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	30	72	0.42	2009–2022
2	Nzué Nguema	23	77	0.3	1995–2005
3	Guy Roger Nzamba	21	47	0.45	1988–2000
4	Michel Minko	14	41	0.34	1984–1990
5	Brice Mackaya	13	43	0.3	1992–1999
	Daniel Cousin	13	60	0.22	2000–2014
7	Malick Evouna	12	34	0.35	2012–present
	Valéry Ondo	12	80	0.15	1988–2001
9	Bruno Zita Mbanangoyé	11	68	0.16	1999–2012
10	Etienne Bito'o	9	18	0.5	2000–2015
	Bruno Ecuélé Manga	9	96	0.09	2007–present
	François Amégasse	9	110	0.08	1984–2000

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of  France									Part of  France
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew									Withdrew
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974	Withdrew									Withdrew
1978	Did not enter									Did not enter
1982
1986
1990	Did not qualify									6	2	0	4	5	9
1994										4	2	1	1	7	5
1998										7	2	1	4	4	11
2002										2	1	0	1	1	2
2006										12	3	5	4	15	14
2010										16	9	0	7	20	13
2014										6	2	1	3	5	6
2018										8	2	3	3	3	8
2022										6	2	1	3	7	8
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	—	0/22	–	–	–	–	–	–		67	25	12	30	67	76

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record										Africa Cup of Nations qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1959	Part of  France									Part of  France
1962 to 1968	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1972	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	1	3
1974	Withdrew									Withdrew
1976	Did not enter									Did not enter
1978	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	5	6
1980	Did not enter									Did not enter
1982	Withdrew									Withdrew
1984	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	6
1986										2	0	1	1	1	3
1988										2	1	0	1	1	1
1990										6	3	0	3	6	6
1992										6	2	3	1	3	2
1994	Group stage	12th	2	0	0	2	0	4		6	4	2	0	10	2
1996	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	1	1	4	3		4	3	0	1	8	2
1998	Did not qualify									6	1	4	1	5	5
2000	Group stage	16th	3	0	1	2	2	6		8	5	1	2	15	10
2002	Did not qualify									8	3	3	2	13	10
2004										6	2	0	4	7	7
2006										12	3	5	4	15	14
2008										4	2	1	1	6	5
2010	Group stage	10th	3	1	1	1	2	2
2012	Quarter-finals	5th	4	3	1	0	7	3
2013	Did not qualify
2015	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	2	3
2017		9th	3	0	3	0	2	2
2019	Did not qualify
2021	Round of 16	12th	4	1	3	0	5	4
2023	To be determined
2025
Total	Quarter-finals	8/33	25	7	10	8	24	27

African Nations Championship record

• 2009 – Did not qualify
• 2011 – Group stage
• 2014 – Quarter-finals
• 2016 – Group stage
• 2018 – Withdrew
• 2020 – Banned[23]
• 2022 – Did not enter

Honours

UNIFAC Cup :

• Champions: 1999

UDEAC Championship :

• Champions: 1985, 1988
• Runner-up: 1989

Minor

• CEMAC Cup :

Champions: 2013

Runner-up: 2007

References

External links

• Homepage of the national team
• Gabon at FIFA.com
• National football team of Gabon picture

На других языках

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- [en] Gabon national football team

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[ru] Сборная Габона по футболу

Сборная Габона по футболу представляет Габон в международных матчах и турнирах по футболу. Управляющая организация — Габонская федерация футбола.

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