* This was Angola’s third quarter-final appearance in the competition as they had not reached this stage since 2010 when they hosted
* Advancing to this level was already a success for Gonçalves and his players
* Who defied all the odds by leading Group D ahead of Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Algeria
Maravi Express
Angola coach, Pedro Gonçalves has expressed his satisfaction over the Palancas Negras’ performance in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Côte d’Ivoire 2023 despite their exit in the quarter-finals at the hands of three-times champions, Nigeria.
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Gonçalves made no secret of his admiration for the system his opponents had put in place to defeat them, saying: “I’d like to congratulate the Nigerian team, they’re very strong and the coach has put in place a solid system. They deserved the victory.
The Palancas Negras boss also touched on the details that his charges lacked in the game against the the Super Eagles: “I think we could have won we fought for the whole 90 minutes.
“We felt sorry for ourselves after conceding the goal, we were to have a good impact, we had chances to score but we didn’t take them,” he said.
The game against Algeria
This was Angola’s third quarter-final appearance in the competition as they had not reached this stage since 2010 when they hosted and advancing to this level was already a success for Gonçalves and his players, who defied all the odds by leading Group D ahead of Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Algeria.
“I feel I have succeeded in my mission with Angolan. I am aware of the work I have done with my team, nobody expected Angola to reach the quarter-finals.”
With 9 goals, Angola exit the tournament as one of the countries with the best attack and their striker, Gelson Dala is the competition’s second highest goalscorer with 4 goals.
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Meanwhile, Cape Verde coach Pedro ‘Bubista’ Brito, whose side got beaten by South Africa through post-match penalties took pride of his side having played out a 0-0 draw over 120 gruelling minutes before Bafana Bafana prevailed 3-1 on spot kicks to shatter Cape Verde’s fairytale run.
“We had a fantastic team and faced worthy opponents too,” he said. “We had opportunities to win the match but couldn’t take them.”
Bubista believed his organised and energetic Cape Verde side deserved to reach the semi-finals after their heroics at the tournament, saying: “Our supporters should be pleased with what we’ve achieved here, we earned the right to be in the last four.”
Bubista
He lamented his team’s lack of cutting edge despite often dominating the dogged South Africans: “At times we were the better team but in tournaments if you don’t take chances it becomes difficult, and penalties involve some luck too.”
Bubista refused to blame the players — including captain Patrick Andrade — whose spot kicks were saved by South Africa goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, saying his penalty takers are his “best players but when you’re tired it’s not easy”.
“I’m so proud of what my players have shown here in Côte d’Ivoire — they’ve represented Cape Verde wonderfully.”
In their first AFCON knockout stage, the Blue Sharks emerged with immense credit before cruelly falling at the final hurdle.—Reporting by CAFonline
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