Amid the circus-like finish to the Equatorial Guinea-Tunisia quarter-final in Bata on Saturday, it would be an injustice if the performance of home forward Javier Balboa is forgotten.

The 29-year-old was magnificent, not just in this fixture but throughout the African Nations Cup finals and has been a major factor in them reaching the semi-finals for the first time.

Along with Middlebrough utility man Emilio Nsue, Balboa is one of the few in the squad with genuine pedigree.

Whatever the merits of the penalty handed to Equatorial Guinea to force their quarter-final match into extra time, it was a highly-pressurised situation.

But Guinea coach Esteban Becker described Balboa as a 'specialist' at set-pieces and he showed his prowess with a cool finish.

There was even better to come though as he showed great technique and skill to curl in a magnificent 30-yard free kick and win the game for his country.

Born in the Spanish capital of Madrid, Balboa does have strong ties back to Equatorial Guinea - his great-grandfather was the mayor of Malabo during the 1960s.

But it is fair to say he bided his time before pinning his colours to the mast while he waited to see what developed with the Spanish national team.

Balboa came through the Real Madrid youth system and would go on to make 11 appearances for the senior side, including in the UEFA Champions League, where he netted on debut against Greek side Olympiakos in 2007.

But at the end of that campaign he was sold to Portuguese giants Benfica following a training ground brawl with defender Pepe that ultimately cost him his chance at the club.

After a few loan spells away from Lisbon, it was clear that Benfica did not rate his services and in 2011 he cut ties with the club by mutual consent.

He spent the next two seasons at another Portuguese side, Beira Mar, but left when that side was relegated.

He joined Estoril in 2013 and last season helped the team to fourth in the Portuguese league, becoming a key figure for the team.