Three days before the clash with Nigeria, Angolans are expressing confidence in a victory and believe in the unprecedented qualification of the football team for the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN). Angola will attempt to defeat Nigeria next Friday in the quarterfinals of the 34th edition of the competition taking place in Ivory Coast. This match will also be a duel between Portuguese coaches, with Pedro Soares Gonçalves leading the Palancas Negras and José Peseiro leading the Nigerian team.
In Luanda, expectations are optimistic, with many believing in Angola’s victory, which would lead to advancing to the semi-finals of the most important African national team competition. “Angola will defeat Nigeria because, at the moment, we have better players. I watched the games of Nigeria and watched the games of Angola, and I realized that Angola has good players capable of defeating Nigeria. I hope the coach doesn’t change the starting eleven, keeping the same team from the previous game, because if there are changes, there will be a drop in performance in our team,” said Antenor Domingos to Lusa.
Despite Nigeria’s three continental titles, unlike Angola, which has never reached the podium, Antenor believes in the triumph of the Angolans and winning the Africa Cup of Nations. “Each game is a game, and each CAN is a CAN. At the moment, we are prepared to win this CAN. Gelson Dala, Gilberto, and Mabululu will make the difference, and we will defeat Nigeria 3-0,” he predicted.
Fernando Cadumbo is another voice believing in Angola’s qualification for the semi-finals, despite some weaknesses still shown by the Angolan team. “We are strong in defensive transition, but in the midfield, we are very weak. Since Nigeria’s coach, José Peseiro, knows Angolan football very well and says Angola is very strong on the wings, we will take advantage of the wings. I believe Nigeria will take advantage of our midfield. There is a young man named Estrela, who was a great player in the last confrontation, but Nigeria will have difficulty on the wings,” he opined.
Furthermore, he emphasized the need for a victory over the Nigerians, regardless of the result: “This is a knockout game. Even if it goes to penalties, we want to win. It doesn’t matter by how much, whether it’s two, four, or five, it’s a knockout game, and we hope Mabululu and Gelson Dala make the difference on the field.”
Helena Chinanga also joins the positive sentiment and believes in Angola’s victory. “The expectation is to win the game, to win against Nigeria by 5-0. Our players have a lot of energy, they are young, and we believe they will win this game. We are fully confident that they will win this game. All our energy to the players of Angola,” she wished.
Among Angolans, there is no consideration of any other possibility than victory, and among various possible results, Manuel Cabaça is another voice expressing confidence. “As an Angolan and a son of the Cazenga municipality (the neighborhood of Mabulu, scorer of one of Angola’s goals in the last game), I say we will win 2-1, with a goal from Mabululu and another from Gelson Dala, despite some fragility in the midfield, but we will win,” he predicted.
On the other hand, Télson Domingos, another football enthusiast, despite highlighting the good form of the Angolan team, remains cautious and admits that it will be a challenging game for both teams, attributing favoritism to both sides. “The Angolan team is very well positioned. Looking at the history, it has been a long time since our team reached this level in terms of goals and tactical level. We are in the quarterfinals, Angola is doing very well, and Nigeria has not shown the football we know. So, I believe Angola is at the level to confront Nigeria to win the match,” he admitted.
Regarding Pedro Goncalves’ squad, Télson Domingos emphasizes the need to improve the defensive sector, unlike the Angolan attack, which, in his opinion, is performing very well. “I have noticed that Mabululu is a player who, for me, among all the games Angola has played, is the one who is giving a lot in terms of forwards. Defensively, we have good players, but still, I would like to point out that we need to improve a lot; we have good defenders, but they need to improve their technical qualities,” he said.
Angola and Nigeria will play on Friday, starting at 17:00, in Abidjan, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 CAN, which also has scheduled matches between the Democratic Republic of Congo-Guinea, Mali-Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde-South Africa.
