Equtorial Guinea advanced to the next round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after leading Group A of the tournament.

A government statement released Tuesday said Obiang Nguema, the world's longest-standing ruler, had watched excitedly as the team won on Monday.

The government also declared a public holiday after the team humiliated the Ivorians in Abidjan to finish ahead of the AFCON hosts and heavyweight contenders Nigeria.

Obiang Nguema’s son and the nation’s vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, promised an additional $54,000 to the squad for every goal that was scored against the Ivorians.

The West African country of around 1.5 million people has had only two presidents since independence from Spain in 1968. Obiang ousted his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema in a coup in 1979 and has been accused by critics of amassing great personal wealth despite doing little to pull the country out of poverty.

The home team was left to rue a host of missed chances as Nsue opened the scoring before the break, and Pablo Ganet fired in a brilliant free kick after it, two minutes before the 34-year-old Nsue capped his performance with his fifth goal of the tournament.

Jannick Buyla completed the rout on a counterattack in the 88th.

It sent Equatorial Guinea into the knockout stage as group winner with seven points.

Nigeria defeated Guinea-Bissau 1-0 in the other Group A match to take second place on goal difference, while Ivory Coast was left with the faint hope that its three points will be enough to end among the four best third-place finishers who also go through to the last 16.

“When we saw the group stage, we saw we were playing two of the top teams in Africa, but we were in prayer,” said Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Jesús Owono after his man-of-the-match performance. “I don’t know how far we can go. I know this team will work and do the same thing that we did today to reach as far as possible.”

Equatorial Guinea, the “National Thunder,” is only taking part for the fourth time.

Owono kept his team in the game by denying Nicolas Pépé in a one-on-one. The “Elephants” also had two goals ruled out through VAR for offside – Ibrahim Sangaré before the break and Jean-Philippe Krasso after it.

Owono’s counterpart, Yahia Fofana, had nothing to do until he picked the ball out of his net after Nsue fired the visitors ahead with their first attack in the 42nd. Carlos Akapo skipped through the Ivorian defense to set up Nsue and shock the fervent home fans at the 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Opa Sanganté’s own-goal in the 36th minute was enough for Nigeria. The Guinea-Bissau defender was trying to cut out a cross for Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen again missed chances and his team’s lack of efficiency in yet another game will be a concern for “Super Eagles” coach José Peseiro.

Egypt and Ghana were battling later for second place in Group B with games against group winner Cape Verde and Mozambique, respectively. Only the top two are assured of progress.

The visit comes a day after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — a staunch ally of Moscow — was in Equatorial Guinea as part of an African tour to bolster ties on the continent. Before jetting off to Kenya Sunday, the Belarusian leader visited the Central African Republic.

Lukashenko was received at State House in the capital Nairobi, his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto said on the X platform, formerly Twitter.

The two leaders "agreed to broaden our ties to renewable energy, trade, investment and education," Ruto said.

"Immense opportunities exist between Kenya and Belarus that must be exploited for the prosperity of the two countries," Ruto said, adding that the East African nation was keen on tapping Belarus' technology in agriculture.

Western countries have sanctioned Belarus and isolated Lukashenko for his firm backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and a crackdown on domestic dissent.

The Eastern European country relies heavily on Russia for political and financial support, and was used as a Launchpad for Moscow's assault against Ukraine in February 2022.

Nairobi and Minsk did not mention Russia's offensive in their statements on the visit.

With the conflict still raging in Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv have sought to bolster support on Africa for their cause.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a surprise visit to Kenya in May on the heels of an African tour by his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

On Saturday, the Belarusian presidency said Lukashenko's visit was aimed at "intensifying interaction in all areas of mutual benefit" and continuing to establish "close ties" between Minsk and African countries.

Dubbed the last dictator of Europe, Lukashenko visited Zimbabwe early this year on his first ever trip to a sub-Saharan African nation.

He signed cooperation agreements with his Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, including on launching the first phase of a regional center to promote Belarusian products in central and West African markets.