Equatorial Guinea vs Gambia

This Friday, Equatorial Guinea and Gambia will face off in an international friendly at Marrakech Stadium in Morocco—a neutral venue for both sides. With each team set to play two friendlies this window, we’re predicting a low-scoring affair, with under 2.5 goals likely.

Equatorial Guinea’s Form & Motivation
Currently fourth in their World Cup qualifying group, Equatorial Guinea have work to do if they want to keep their hopes alive. While their next qualifier isn’t until September, this friendly offers a chance to build much-needed momentum. Their recent form has been shaky (just one win in their last seven matches: W1, D3, L2), but they’ll take confidence from their previous meeting with Gambia—a narrow 1-0 victory back in 2011.

Gambia’s Struggles & Scoring Woes
Gambia’s World Cup qualifying campaign has been even tougher—they sit fifth in their group and are already out of contention for direct qualification. Their recent form (two draws and two losses in their last four) won’t inspire much confidence, and their biggest concern will be their lack of goals. They’ve failed to score in three consecutive matches, something they’ll be desperate to fix before facing Uganda in another friendly next week.

With both teams looking to sharpen up before returning to competitive action in September, this could be a cagey, tactical battle rather than a goal fest.

Under Juan Micha's leadership, Equatorial Guinea enters this match fresh off a 1-1 draw with Namibia at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, where Torino defender Saul Coco gave the Equatorial Guineans an equalizer just minutes after Peter Shalulile had given the Namibians the lead.

They now take on a Gambian team that, in FIFA-recognized games, most recently lost 1-0 to African champions the Ivory Coast at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan a few months ago, thanks to a goal in the 15th minute from Sebastian Haller, a former striker for Borussia Dortmund and West Ham United.

Equatorial Guinea is considered to be the small favorite for this match in North Africa because they have improved somewhat following a significant setback in 2024.