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Gabon national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Gabon women's national football team.
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Gabon
Shirt badge/Association crest
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 85 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 30 (July 2009)
Lowest 125 (April–May 2003)
Elo ranking
Current 103 Decrease 1 (3 March 2019)
Highest 63 (November 1996)
Lowest 123 (June 2004)
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

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).

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. In 1967, they also became full members of CAF. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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 15 June 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

2022

2023

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
  • France Jean Prouff (1960)
  • France Robert Vicot (1979)
  • France Alain de Martigny (1985–1986)
  • Yugoslavia Nedeljko Bulatović (1986–1987)
  • Gabon Alain Da Costa (1987–1989)
  • Germany Karl-Heinz Weigang (1989–1994)
  • Gabon Edouard Eroumbengani (1989–1991)
  • France Robert Pintenat (1991–1992)
  • Belgium Jean Thissen (1992–1994)
  • Gabon Alain Da Costa (1994–1997)
  • France Serge Devèze (1997–1998)
  • Brazil Antônio Dumas (1998–2000)
  • Gabon Claude Rayelomanan (2000)
  • Gabon Alain Da Costa (2000–2002)
  • Belgium Michel De Wolf (2002–2003)
  • Gabon Claude Albert Mbourounot (2003)
  • Brazil Jairzinho (2003–2005)
  • Gabon Raphaël Nzamba-Nzamba (2005–2006)
  • France Alain Giresse (2006–2010)
  • Germany Gernot Rohr (2010–2012)
  • Portugal Paulo Jorge Rebelo Duarte (2012–2013)
  • Gabon Stéphane Bounguendza (2014)
  • Portugal Jorge Costa (2014–2016)
  • Portugal José António Garrido (2016)
  • Spain José Antonio Camacho (2016–2018)
  • Gabon Daniel Cousin (2018–2019)
  • France Patrice Neveu (2019–present)

Players

Current squad

  • The following 26 players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.
  • Match dates: 4 and 8 June 2022
  • Opposition:  Congo DR 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 32) 19 0 Luxembourg Rodange
1GK Jean-Noël Amonome (1997-12-24) 24 December 1997 (age 25) 11 0 South Africa AmaZulu
1GK Donald Nzé (1992-04-05) 5 April 1992 (age 31) 3 0 Democratic Republic of the Congo Maniema Union
2DF Bruno Ecuele Manga (1988-07-16) 16 July 1988 (age 35) 96 9 Free agent
2DF Lloyd Palun (1988-11-28) 28 November 1988 (age 35) 73 0 France Bastia
2DF Aaron Appindangoyé (1992-02-20) 20 February 1992 (age 31) 56 2 Turkey Sivasspor
2DF Johann Obiang (1993-07-05) 5 July 1993 (age 30) 44 0 France Caen
2DF Junior Assoumou (1995-07-22) 22 July 1995 (age 28) 16 0 France Granville
2DF Anthony Oyono (2001-04-12) 12 April 2001 (age 22) 10 0 Italy Frosinone
2DF Yoann Wachter (1992-04-07) 7 April 1992 (age 31) 10 0 France Saint-Pryvé
2DF Alex Moucketou-Moussounda (2000-10-10) 10 October 2000 (age 23) 9 1 Republic of Cyprus Aris Limassol
2DF David Sambissa (1996-01-11) 11 January 1996 (age 27) 5 0 Netherlands Cambuur
2DF Yannis N'Gakoutou (1998-09-30) 30 September 1998 (age 25) 4 0 Free agent
2DF Jacques Ekomié (2003-08-19) 19 August 2003 (age 20) 0 0 France Bordeaux
3MF André Biyogo Poko (1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 (age 30) 76 3 Saudi Arabia Al-Khaleej
3MF Guélor Kanga (1990-08-01) 1 August 1990 (age 33) 60 2 Serbia Red Star Belgrade
3MF Louis Ameka (1996-10-03) 3 October 1996 (age 27) 26 0 Morocco Maghreb de Fès
3MF Serge-Junior Martinsson Ngouali (1992-01-23) 23 January 1992 (age 31) 15 0 Norway Sarpsborg
3MF Medwin Biteghé (1996-09-01) 1 September 1996 (age 27) 8 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Sahel
4FW Denis Bouanga (1994-11-11) 11 November 1994 (age 29) 32 7 United States Los Angeles FC
4FW Axel Méyé (1995-06-06) 6 June 1995 (age 28) 32 2 Morocco Raja Casablanca
4FW Aaron Boupendza (1996-08-07) 7 August 1996 (age 27) 28 5 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
4FW Jim Allevinah (1995-02-27) 27 February 1995 (age 28) 17 4 France Clermont
4FW Kévin Mayi (1993-01-14) 14 January 1993 (age 30) 5 0 Turkey Denizlispor
4FW Shavy Babicka (2000-06-01) 1 June 2000 (age 23) 1 1 Republic of Cyprus Aris Limassol
4FW Alan Do Marcolino (2002-03-19) 19 March 2002 (age 21) 1 0 France 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 27) 6 0 Free agent v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
DF Sidney Obissa (2000-05-04) 4 May 2000 (age 23) 7 0 France Villefranche v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
MF Didier Ndong (1994-05-17) 17 May 1994 (age 29) 41 0 France Dijon v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
MF Mario Lemina (1993-09-01) 1 September 1993 (age 30) 25 3 France Nice v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022RET
MF Nathanael Mbourou (1996-08-24) 24 August 1996 (age 27) 2 0 Moldova Dinamo-Auto v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW Gaëtan Missi Mezu (1996-05-04) 4 May 1996 (age 27) 9 0 France Cholet v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW Fahd Ndzengue (2000-07-07) 7 July 2000 (age 23) 3 0 Slovenia Tabor Sežana v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW Ulrick Eneme Ella (2001-05-22) 22 May 2001 (age 22) 4 0 France Angers v.  Burkina Faso, 23 January 2022
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (1989-06-18) 18 June 1989 (age 34) 72 30 England 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

Players in bold are still active with Gabon.

Most appearances

Didier Ovono
Didier Ovono is Gabon's most capped player with 112 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

1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (cropped)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Gabon's top scorer with 30 goals.
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
Uruguay 1930 Part of  France Part of  France
Italy 1934
France1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966 Withdrew Withdrew
Mexico 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
West Germany 1974 Withdrew Withdrew
Argentina 1978 Did not enter Did not enter
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990 Did not qualify 6 2 0 4 5 9
United States 1994 4 2 1 1 7 5
France 1998 7 2 1 4 4 11
South Korea Japan 2002 2 1 0 1 1 2
Germany 2006 12 3 5 4 15 14
South Africa 2010 16 9 0 7 20 13
Brazil 2014 6 2 1 3 5 6
Russia 2018 8 2 3 3 3 8
Qatar 2022 6 2 1 3 7 8
Canada Mexico United States 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 Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Part of  France Part of  France
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
Cameroon 1972 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 3
Egypt 1974 Withdrew Withdrew
Ethiopia 1976 Did not enter Did not enter
Ghana 1978 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 5 6
Nigeria 1980 Did not enter Did not enter
Libya 1982 Withdrew Withdrew
Côte d'Ivoire 1984 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 2 6
Egypt 1986 2 0 1 1 1 3
Morocco 1988 2 1 0 1 1 1
Algeria 1990 6 3 0 3 6 6
Senegal 1992 6 2 3 1 3 2
Tunisia 1994 Group stage 12th 2 0 0 2 0 4 6 4 2 0 10 2
South Africa 1996 Quarter-finals 7th 3 1 1 1 4 3 4 3 0 1 8 2
Burkina Faso 1998 Did not qualify 6 1 4 1 5 5
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Group stage 16th 3 0 1 2 2 6 8 5 1 2 15 10
Mali 2002 Did not qualify 8 3 3 2 13 10
Tunisia 2004 6 2 0 4 7 7
Egypt 2006 12 3 5 4 15 14
Ghana 2008 4 2 1 1 6 5
Angola 2010 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 2 2 6 4 0 2 8 3
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012 Quarter-finals 5th 4 3 1 0 7 3 Qualified as hosts
South Africa 2013 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 2 3
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group stage 12th 3 1 0 2 2 3 6 3 3 0 9 4
Gabon 2017 9th 3 0 3 0 2 2 Qualified as host
Egypt 2019 Did not qualify 6 2 2 2 7 5
Cameroon 2021 Round of 16 12th 4 1 3 0 5 4 6 3 1 2 8 6
Côte d'Ivoire 2023 To be determined In progress
Guinea 2025 To be determined
Total Quarter-finals 8/33 25 7 10 8 24 27 110 41 29 40 132 103

African Nations Championship record

  • 2009 – Did not qualify
  • 2011 – Group stage
  • 2014 – Quarter-finals
  • 2016 – Group stage
  • 2018 – Withdrew
  • 2020 – Banned
  • 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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Gabón para niños

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