Equatorial Guinea's national football team played its first international match on 23 May 1975, a 6–2 friendly defeat to China. For a decade, the team remained largely dormant on the continental stage, making sporadic appearances in regional competitions such as the UDEAC Cup through the 1980s and 1990s before recording its first competitive win — a 4–2 result over the Central African Republic — in 1999.
The most transformative period in the team's history came with co-hosting the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Gabon. Making their debut at a major tournament on home soil, the Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder) stunned Libya 1–0 in the opening game, reached the quarter-finals, and produced a run that captured continental attention. Three years later, Equatorial Guinea stepped in as sole host of the 2015 AFCON at short notice following Morocco's withdrawal, and delivered their finest finish: beating Tunisia in the quarter-finals and reaching the semi-finals before ultimately claiming fourth place — still their best result in any major competition.
After failing to qualify for the 2017 and 2019 editions, the team achieved a historic milestone at AFCON 2021 by qualifying through the standard qualification process for the very first time. They went on to defeat defending champions Algeria, advance through a penalty shootout over Mali in the round of 16 — goalkeeper Jesús Owono saving two spot-kicks — and reach the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champions Senegal.
The team's identity has been shaped by a growing rivalry with Tunisia and a long-standing contest with neighbouring Gabon, rooted partly in territorial disputes. Eligibility controversies involving naturalised foreign players have also followed the team throughout its modern history.