Pedro Obiang has been named in Equatorial Guinea’s squad to host Senegal on Saturday 17 November.
The Hammers’ central midfielder represented Spain’s youth sides from under-17s to under-21s, without making an appearance for the senior side.
Gabon approached the 26-year-old in 2011, even going so far as to name him in their under-20 team against China, but he refused to represent the country.
He appeared to adopt a similar stance towards Equatorial Guinea, whom he is also eligible to play for, until suggesting his desire to play for the AFCON side in 2016.
The call-up will need to be cleared by Fifa due to a change in his national allegiance, with his last Spain appearance coming four years ago.
Equatorial Guinea’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Senegal is somewhat of a dead rubber, with the former being eliminated and the latter guaranteed a spot in the final tournament. Nevertheless, it offers Obiang the chance to restore pride for his Angel Lopez’s team, who were twice beaten by minnows Madagascar in Group A.
The final fixture will then see the National Thunder travel to Sudan on 22 March, as both sides will battle to avoid last place in the group.
The West Ham player himself had missed part of October through injury, but was named in Manuel Pellegrini’s starting 11 in the 4-2 victory against Burnley last weekend.
