Well, extraordinary scenes in Bata, as seemingly an entire country completely loses the thread. And why not? It’s a remarkable story, and while their progression does pose a number of questions about the tournament as a whole, we’ll leave those for now. What a game, what a story. Cheers for reading, see you all soon.

The other game has ended Congo 2-1 Burkina Faso, meaning Claude LeRoy’s side win the group, ahead of Equatorial Guinea.

90 mins + 4: Esteban Becker, the Equatorial Guinea coach, has a stupid great grin on his face, and who can blame him? The entire bench is dancing around, hugging each other.

90 mins + 3: Palun tries a long hoof down the pitch, but it’s typical of most things Gabon are trying, here.

90 mins + 2: This really is extraordinary. Gabon are pressing, but they look a team bereft of ideas and fight now, and they’re going out.

90 mins: Blimey. Five minutes of stoppage time. Could be interesting if Gabon get one now...

89 mins: Another sub, running down the clock now for Guinea - Nsue goes off, celebrating and whipping up the crowd as he goes, and Roben Obama comes on.

87 mins: Two quick goals in the other game - Burkina Faso had equalised, but just as quickly Congo retake the lead.

86 mins: Guinea’s place in the next round looks secure now. Balboa gets down the right, cuts back to Nsue whose shot is blocked, and it falls to Ivan Edu who scuffs his shot into the ground, but it still goes into the net. Bata is one vibrating mass of joy.

85 mins: Another free-kick for Aubameyang, this time on the left, but this one is terrible, a wayward shot flying high and wide. Gabon coach Jorge Costa puts his head in his hands.

83 mins: Last change for Gabon, and it’s another attacking one - left-back Obiang is hooked, replaced by striker Junior Randal Oto’o Zue.

82 mins: There’s an absolute whopper in the crowd with a whistle, which sounds an awful lot like the ref’s. Most distracting.

81 mins: Aubameyang again, this time with a free-kick, and he skims the ball into the danger area, where there’s only Evouna and no defenders, but he can’t direct the ball into the net. Still, the flag goes up, so offside would’ve scuppered things even if it had gone in.

80 mins: More pressure from Gabon, as Aubameyang tosses it into the box but it’s headed clear. These last few minutes could resemble a siege.

77 mins: Close! Balboa very nearly seals things for Guinea, but his effort is well saved by the legs of Ovono. Another tricky stop, impressively dealt with. Meanwhile, a sub for Gabon as Kanga is withdrawn and Romaric Rogombe is on.

76 mins: There was a small snafu as Guinea tried to make a substitution with some incorrect numbers and some serious fury on the bench, but now the change is made - the massive Bosio is off, and Juvenal Edjogo is on.

73 mins: Eeek, close, close, close. Ndong plays a slide-rule pass looking for Kanga, but it’s just too strong - otherwise, he would’ve been in on goal.

72 mins: Gabon chipping away here, but struggling to actually create anything much of substance. Can see them getting rather frustrated.

70 mins: Doualla launches a blooter of a shot at goal from about 30 yards out, and it bounces horribly in front of Ovono, who does superbly to make the save. Smashing goalkeeping from both Ovonos thus far.

69 mins: And a change for Gabon - Poko is off, Ibrahim Ndong is the man to replace him, which is most certainly an attacking move.

67 mins: Bulot flings a cross over from the right, but it’s too high for Aubameyang and Ovono gathers. Meanwhile, a sub for Guinea - Iban Edu comes on, replacing Boula.

64 mins: Aubameyang tumbles just outside the box, squeals for a foul, but nowt is given. Could be a bit of that, in the next 25 minutes.

62 mins: It sounds like the atmosphere has absolutely exploded in Bata. Meanwhile, Palun makes a complete balls of a throw-in, changing his mind about what he was going to do with it halfway through taking the throw, but not quickly enough to stop it plopping out of his hands and onto the turf in front of him.

60 mins: Ovono (the Guinea one - both keepers are called Ovono, confusingly) seemed to do himself a mischief of some description in that move, and is down getting some treatment.

59 mins: HOW are Gabon not level? Aubameyang belts down the left side of the box, gets to the byline and crosses to the far post, taking out Ovono in nets in the process, and Bulot arrives at the far post with an open goal, but skies the thing. That one will flash in front of his eyes for a few years to come.

58 mins: News from the other game - Congo have taken the lead over Burkina Faso, meaning that they would win the group as things stand.

57 mins: Bosio lollops through on the right side of the area and very nearly makes it two rapidly, forcing Ovono into a smart save after a clever effort with the outside of his left foot.

56 mins: Of course, this now means that Equatorial Guinea are heading through to the next round, and Gabon are going out.

51 mins: Bulot, who has looked Gabon’s most threatening player, whips a free-kick in from the right corner of the box that looks like it will dip under the bar, but Ovono once again does well to alertly tip over. A goal coming for Gabon, here.

49 mins: A yellow for Esono for a pull back on Madinda, just outside the Guinea box, about which the booked player looks most affronted. Not really sure why, mind.

47 mins: Gabon win a free-kick straight away in the left channel about 25 yards from goal. Aubameyang lines it up, curls over the wall and Ovono does well to palm the thing over the bar.

46 mins: We’re off. No changes at half-time, in personnel at least. In life philosophy? I cannot confirm.

And we’re back out for the second 45. Equatorial Guinea have three-quarters of an hour to stay in the tournament.

It’s also 0-0 in the other game between Congo and Burkina Faso, meaning that as things stand it’s Gabon and Congo going through.

45 mins: Guinea on top here, but they still haven’t really managed to carve a great deal out.

43 mins: Guinea win a corner on the right, but Balboa continues the theme for the game thus far by hitting it straight into the first man.

40 mins: Boula makes fine tracks barreling down the right and towards the area, then cuts back to Doualla way, way, way out who hits it first time, and it goes way, way, way over the bar.

38 mins: Bosio brings down a long diagonal on his roomy chest, spins on the edge of the box and shoots on the half-volley. It goes well over the bar, but it was still a decent effort from the big, big, big man.

37 mins: The ball breaks to Nsue dashing into the box, but his pass across the area is possibly a touch to early, possibly a touch too hard, possibly both - whatever it is, Bosio can’t get there.

35 mins: Mr Ames is our man in Bata, by the way.

33 mins: Aubameyang gallops down the right and flips the ball into the box, but it’s just a wee bit too high for Bulot in the box. Which also sounds like a children’s book character.

32 mins: More scrappy play now. The last couple of minutes summed up as Obiang seemingly closes his eyes and hoofs one up the left touchline. It sails high into the night air and out.

29 mins: And as Guinea knock, so do Gabon, as Evouna and Bulot exchange passes, with the latter clear and shooting but the effort is straight at Ovono, who makes a relatively simple save.

28 mins: Guinea definitely knocking on the door here, as Ron Atkinson might have said if he wasn’t prevented from being on TV because of that massive racism he did. Nsue gets down the right but his cut-back cross is cleared.

26 mins: Neat work by Boula plays Nsue down the right, but his low cross isn’t good enough to beat the defenders at the near post, guarding against the giant Bosio. Which sounds like a children’s book character.

23 mins: A Guinea break is curtailed when Nsue catches Palun with a high boot, although in fairness the Gabon defender had dipped his bonce going for the ball. Nsue protests, the ref gives it the full Ricki Lake, talk to the hand treatment. Lovely to see.

20 mins: How did that not go in? Aubameyang thinks he’s given Gabon the lead after meeting a Bulot cross from the left with emphatic power, but his header is somehow pawed away by Ovono, the ball skipping across the line but goes just wide of the post.

19 mins: Yellow card for Iyanga, who rather cynically pulls Aubameyang back.

18 mins: Close for Guinea. Brilliant break down the left by Balboa, who then crosses low right across the box, aiming for Bosio at the far post but Appindangoye nicks in at the very last moment to deny him an almost certain goal.

16 mins: Obiang then goes into the book for a couple of hacks at Boula’s ankles, and that means he’ll miss the next match. Silly, that.

15 mins: Superb raking pass from deep on the right to high on the left by Palun finds Bulot on the right for Gabon. The ball eventually reaches Obiang on the left, who cuts it back to Aubameyang, but his shot is pulled.

13 mins: Bosio uses some of that vastness to neatly knock the ball down for Nsue just outside the area, but Poko arrives as if from nowhere and expertly pick-pockets him before he can offer a shot.

12 mins: Seriously, Bosio is absolutely vast.

10 mins: Still very scrappy. Nsue tries to get down the right but is rather cynically blocked off by Obiang.

8 mins: Javier Balboa lines up the free-kick, but...well, man alive...if there was another set of posts put on top of this one, it still would’ve gone over. Eeesh.

7 mins: Oooh, interesting moment, as Gabon keeper Ovono is penalised for taking the ball out of his area with his hands, while kicking it upfield. The replays suggest he was rather hard done to (he was out of the box when he kicked it, but not when he had it in his hands), but a free-kick is given.

4 mins: Bulot is down on the turf after what we’ll euphemistically call a ‘clumsy challenge by Doualla, but what in actual fact was a pretty horrible raking foul. No action from the ref though, other than to give a free-kick which is taken by Madinda, but comes to nought.

3 mins: Nick Ames (17.50 update) wasn’t kidding about Bosio (also called Fabiani): he is an absolutely colossal unit. Scrappy start to the game, with goalkeepers exchanging fairly aimless punts up and down the pitch.

1 min: And we’re off, the hosts kicking off. Given how quickly the team was slung together, it would be quite the story if Equatorial Guinea went on to qualify here.

Anthems update: the Equatorial Guinea tune bangs on a bit.

So then. The big one here. Winner takes all. Or, if it’s level, drawer takes all. The simple permutation is whoever wins will qualify for the second phase, hosts Equatorial Guinea still in it after two draws in their opening two games, with Gabon one above them following a win and a defeat.

A draw should be fine for Gabon, but they will then have half an eye on what happens in the other game, between Congo and Burkina Faso: if the latter win, then there will be a mini league of three created all on four points, which is about the time that my head starts to hurt. So let’s just wait until we know if that’s a factor, eh?

Nick will be here shortly with all the team news with kick off at 6pm. In the meantime, here’s who Nick Ames and Taimour Lay have been chatting to:

Equatorial Guinea are leaving nothing to chance, even if that is what brought them here. While most of Esteban Becker’s squad train on an unassuming five-a-side pitch by a spot of wasteland outside Bata, their two prize assets have their feet up in the team hotel. Javier Balboa, the rangy former Real Madrid forward, is upstairs recuperating and Emilio Nsue has been told to take it easy too. It is Nsue, the Middlesbrough wing-back, who has stolen hearts at this Africa Cup of Nations.

Chosen as captain by Becker despite having won only two caps before this month, Nsue has been deployed as makeshift centre-forward in this Heath Robinson contraption of a team and scored the tournament’s first goal 16 minutes into the match against Republic of Congo last weekend. Victory against Gabon on Sunday evening will mean progression to the quarter-finals for the last-minute host country and could, for this Mallorca-born footballer, lead to an unlikely homecoming too.

“This is the country of my father. My colour” – he points at his forearm – “everything, is from here,” says Nsue. “My surname is very common and the people recognise that I am from here, part of the country.”

Identity politics have been a big issue around the Equatorial Guinea side.

The nation has a questionable history of naturalising footballers – around 25 Brazil-born players have been capped in the past 13 years, many allegedly taking money to do so and some said to have played under the cover of local names. The Congo coach, Claude Le Roy, once referred to Equatorial Guinea’s team as the “United Nations” and was critical again after the sides’ meeting in Bata. The country has been a pariah within African football and its own public found it hard to warm to the revolving door of imports, too. But Nsue explains that things have changed during Becker’s short time – a month – in charge.

Read the full story here.