5 months ago
34 Angola head coach Pedro Goncalves has said Friday’s quarter-final clash with Nigeria’s Super Eagles is an opportunity to show his side’s worth.
The Palancas Negras and the Eagles will meet at the AFCON for the first time.
Previous meetings between both teams had been in AFCON and World Cup qualifiers as well as the Africa Nations Championship.
While the Eagles beat Angola to the ticket to the 2004 AFCON in Tunisia, the Angolans got their revenge, as they bagged the sole ticket for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
One game that always comes to mind whenever the two teams are about to square off, is the tragic death of Samuel Okwaraji during a 1990 World Cup qualifiers in 1989 in Lagos.
The two countries will go into Friday’s encounter on the back of three consecutive wins.
“We will be playing a powerful team, but we forsee this meeting as an opportunity to show our worth and that we have been progressing,” Gonçalves said in his press conference on Thursday.
“We respect Nigeria a lot, and they are a powerful team with players in the Premier League and other top leagues. They have found the best formation in a tournament as the AFCON.”
Goncalves, however, stated that they will go into the game against the Eagles without fear.
We are not afraid of any of the teams. We’ve experienced a couple of situations, but they did not stop us from meeting our target. As I said earlier, tomorrow is an opportunity.”
The first and only time Angola featured in the quarter-finals at the AFCON was in 2010 when they hosted the competition.
A first half goal by Asamoah Gyan secured a 1-0 win for Ghana’s Black Stars.
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