Owono left out of Eq Guinea squad after death of De Miguel

Owono requested to miss Equatorial Guinea's Afcon qualifiers after a collision with Tenerife's De Miguel, 30, who died from injuries sustained in the incident.

Goalkeeper Jesus Owono will miss Equatorial Guinea's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this month following the death of Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel. De Miguel, 30, died after suffering a serious injury in a collision with Owono during a Spanish second division match on Monday. Owono said he is experiencing "the most difficult days of my life" in a statement issued by his club FC Andorra on Wednesday, adding that it is "very hard to come to terms with what has happened". Equatorial Guinea's football federation confirmed the 25-year-old had requested to be left out of coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese's squad, with the federation president offering "all our human and professional backing" to the player.

Equatorial Guinea face Zimbabwe in a double-header in Group E, with a home match in Bata on Thursday, 12 November before a trip to Harare four days later. The two teams sit level on three points after two rounds of matches.