CAIRO: Only one goal separated Angola from a quarterfinal place at the African Cup of Nations.
It could have come even at a different stadium and the Black Antelopes would have made the last eight. But Angola headed home despite Sunday s 3-2 win at Cairo sInternational Stadium – their first victory at the championship in its third finals appearance.
While Angola was winning, Cameroon was beating 10-man Congo 2-0 at the nearby Cairo Military Stadium. Samuel Eto o scored once to raise his total to a tournament-high five goals and Cameroon hit the crossbar twice. Had one of those shots gone in, Angola would have qualified and not Congo.
Angola wasted many chances against Togo, which was also reduced to 10 men.
At least Angola had the satisfaction of going out with a win, and beating a fellow World Cup qualifier in the process.
While Angola also had a draw against Congo, Togo lost all three and never justified its place at this year s World Cup in Germany.
We got four points but we re not happy because we didn t qualify. This is football. We attacked as much as possible because we knew the result of the other game but we weren t fortunate enough to score more, Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves said We did all we could but we fell short.
He said Angola would rebound for the World Cup, where it will play Portugal, Mexico and Iran.
You will see a good performance at the World Cup. We ll be well prepared, Goncalves said. Thanks to the Angolan federation, we will have a one-month camp before the World Cup and this will ensure that we will be properly prepared.
Angola became the first of five African nations to clinch a spot at the World Cup, surprisingly qualifying ahead of perennial continental power Nigeria.
The southern African country is struggling to recover from the ravages of a bloody civil war. The conflict – which began after independence from Portugal in 1975 and ended in 2002 – uprooted 4 million people, or about one-third of the population.
Midfielder Fabrice Akwa, whose winning goal against Rwanda sent the Black Antelopes to the World Cup, missed several chances against Togo before being substituted.
Akwa failed to prosper in the Portuguese league and now plays for Al Wakra in Qatar. AP
