Coach Pedro Goncalves Wants To Use Nigeria To Set New AFCON Record For Angola

Angola coach, Pedro Goncalves is aiming to take his team to the final of the 2023 AFCON despite having a meeting with the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

At 6 p.m. on Friday, February 2, coach Pedro Goncalves will lead Angola to face the Super Eagles at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.

Recall that Angola made it to the quarter-finals of the competition after beating Namibia 3-0 in the 2023 AFCON round of 16 on Saturday.

This makes it the first time in 14 years that Angola made it to the quarter-finals of the Nations Cup. They have achieved this feat twice in their history, in 2008 and 2010.

Hence, if they manage to beat Nigeria and qualify for the 2023 AFCON semi-finals, that will mark the first time in their history that they will progress to the last four of the tournament.

Note that Angola have performed almost flawlessly in the 2023 competition, defeating Burkina Faso and Mauritania, drawing with Algeria, and winning their group with seven points.

Pedro Goncalves is now looking forward to achieving a dream and setting a new standard in Angolan football history by beating Nigeria on Friday and grabbing a spot in the next round.

He said, “Whoever reaches the quarter-finals has to aim to go as far as possible, and the furthest possible is to reach the final and propose themselves as a candidate for victory.”

In eight meetings between the two countries in the last 43 years, Nigeria have recorded three wins, Angola have two wins, and the other games ended in draws.