BOCHUM, Germany -- Equatorial Guinea coach Marcelo Maria Frigerio confirmed Saturday that his women's soccer team has been removed from Olympic qualification by FIFA because of a player's nationality issues.
Forward Jade Boho Sayo was suspended Tuesday by FIFA for two months and removed from the Equatorial Guinea Women's World Cup roster, though her suspension did not affect the team's participation in the tournament.
She previously had played for Spain's under-19 team and played for Equatorial Guinea in its World Cup and Olympic qualifying campaigns.
Nigeria issued a statement earlier this week saying it had been told by FIFA that its upcoming opponent had been changed from Equatorial Guinea to Cameroon, which Guinea had beaten in the second round of qualifying.
Speaking at a news conference Saturday in Bochum, where his team will face Australia Sunday, Frigerio said he had received the news about the Olympics, but was focused on the ongoing tournament.
"Of course, it's not the perfect moment to receive such information," he said through a translator. "Moreover, I think it's not the right moment to talk about it. We are all human beings. We live emotions. We have our dreams. We are taking part in one of those at the moment. We have to concentrate on tomorrow's game."
Equatorial Guinea lost 1-0 to Norway in its opening match. After Sunday's game against Australia, it will play Brazil on July 6.
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