Angola’s head coach, Marcos Antunes, lauded his players after a 7-3 victory over Egypt as they advanced into the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON Morocco 2024.
Speaking after the match at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Hall, Antunes expressed his positivity and belief in his team’s abilities. “I have a positive way of living and I try to pass these to my players,” said the Portuguese coach. “In that way, our confidence and our quality of play, I think Egypt cannot resist our attempts because we’re organized and we suffer when we have to.”
Despite Egypt leveling the score twice during the game, Angola’s dominant second-half performance proved decisive, earning them a well-deserved victory. Antunes emphasized the team’s objective from the outset and praised their execution. “Egypt is a great team and a fantastic team but we’re heading to Uzbekistan and into the final. That was the objective of my players since the first day we came here and I always tell the players to play with confidence and show their quality and now the results are here,” said Antunes.
For Antunes, the victory holds special significance, given Angola’s challenges in securing international matches. “It’s a very important victory for us because we have been fighting for two years. We don’t have the same opportunities as the other teams because we don’t play enough international matches like the other team so it is very special for me and the team to win and qualify to the final and the World Cup,” he remarked.
On the opposing side, Egypt’s coach Gehad Arafa acknowledged his team’s errors against a formidable Angola side. “Unfortunately, in these matches the fewer mistakes you make increases your chances of winning and if we were leading it would have been a different story,” Arafa conceded. Despite Egypt’s efforts to utilize the flying keeper strategy, Angola capitalized on their mistakes, securing the win with three late goals.
Reflecting on the defeat, Arafa acknowledged Angola’s superiority and stressed the need to prepare for the next opportunity. “It’s the first time in our history to not qualify for the Futsal AFCON final but that is the game of Futsal and we congratulate Angola for the win,” Arafa concluded.
Angola will now face Hosts, Morocco in the final of theTotal Energies Futsal Tournament. The winner of the third place match between Egypt and Libya will join the two finalists in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan later this year.
