AFCON 2024 – Guinea-Bissau: Squad, group, opponents & schedule

Led by Baciro Candé, Guinea-Bissau started their AFCON 2024 campaign on Saturday, 13 January, in the opening game of the tournament.

In this article, we'll provide everything you need to know about their group opponents, schedule and squad.

For the record, this year's competition is officially named AFCON 2023 since it was initially scheduled to take place last year but was postponed until January-February 2024.

Guinea-Bissau AFCON 2024 schedule

Guinea-Bissau's opponents in Group A are Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria's Super Eagles. The Djurtus will have the honour of playing the opening match of the AFCON against the Elephants of Ivory Coast.

Although all of Guinea-Bissau's group matches will be played in Abidjan, their first two games will take place at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara, while the third one will be played at the Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny.

13 January, 9 pm: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau, (Alassane Ouattara D’Anyama Olympic Stadium)
18 January, 3 pm: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau, (Alassane Ouattara D’Anyama Olympic Stadium)
22 January, 6 pm: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria, (Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny)

How did Guinea-Bissau qualify for AFCON 2024?

In the qualifying rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations, Guinea-Bissau were drawn in Group A, where they faced Sao Tome and Principe, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. They finished second with 13 points from six group games. Coincidentally, the Nigeria Super Eagles will be one of Guinea-Bissau's opponents in Group A of the AFCON.

Game 1: Guinea-Bissau (5-1) Sao Tome and Principe
Game 2: Sierra Leone (2-2) Guinea-Bissau
Game 3: Nigeria (0-1) Guinea-Bissau
Game 4: Guinea-Bissau (0-1) Nigeria
Game 5: Sao Tome and Principe (0-1) Guinea-Bissau
Game 6: Guinea-Bissau (2-1) Sierra Leone

Guinea-Bissau's last 10 matches before AFCON 2024

Djibouti (0-1) Guinea-Bissau – 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Burkina Faso (1-1) Guinea-Bissau – 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Guinea (1-0) Guinea-Bissau – Friendly
Guinea-Bissau (2-1) Sierra Leone – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Sao Tome and Principe (0-1) Guinea-Bissau – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Guinea-Bissau (0-1) Nigeria – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Nigeria (0-1) Guinea-Bissau – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Guinea-Bissau (0-0) Gambia – Friendly
Guinea-Bissau (1-3) Gabon – Friendly
Sierra Leone (2-2) Guinea-Bissau – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers

Can Guinea-Bissau reach the knockout stages for the first time?

Prior to the 2017 edition, Guinea-Bissau had never qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. However, since their debut in 2017, the Djurtus have qualified for four consecutive AFCON events.

To be fair, Guinea-Bissau crashed out in the group stage the last three times they participated at this tournament. Baciro Candé will hope to steer his team to the knockout stages for the first time in history.

This isn't a particularly easy task considering the Djurtus were paired in the same group with two of the tournament's favourites: Ivory Coast and Nigeria. However, it's worth mentioning that Candé's troops defeated the Super Eagles on the road when they met in the qualifying rounds.

That said, the Portuguese-speaking country, with a population of 2 million people, would be proud should their national team make it past the group stages.

Guinea-Bissau's coach: Baciro Candé

Baciro Candé, a former Guinea-Bissau international now aged 56, had previously coached the national team between 2001 and 2009, before taking charge of Sporting Bissau in the national championship and returning to the helm of the Djurtus in 2016.

His results speak for themselves: with four consecutive appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations, the former defender has made Guinea-Bissau a force to be reckoned with.

Baciro Candé, Guinea-Bissau's AFCON 2024 coach — Credit: Icon Sport

Player to watch: Franculino Djú

Aged just 19, Franculino Djú has impressed this season. In 24 matches across all competitions for Midtjylland this season, Djú has scored 14 times, with two assists.

The former Benfica U-23 player has earned three caps for the Djurtus so far; he scored the winning goal in his debut for Guinea-Bissau, in a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone. Djú will likely cause some problems for his opponents' defenses.

Guinea-Bissau's: AFCON 2024 preparations

In preparation for the AFCON 2024, Guinea-Bissau faced Mali in a friendly match on Saturday 6 January. They suffered a humiliating 6-2 loss to the Eagles in that game.