With one win and three draws, the Palancas Negras find themselves in fourth place in Group D, having earned just six points from their first four matches.
The Southern African nation is aiming to return to the global football stage after a 20-year absence. Their sole appearance was at Germany 2006, where they secured qualification by edging out Nigeria on the away-goal rule.
Interestingly, Akwa captained Angola to their historic World Cup appearance, and he believes Pedro Goncalves' side can replicate that success. 
However, he cautions that it will not be easy in a group led by five-time African champions Cameroon.
"As an Angolan, I must believe in my national team. Our start in the qualifiers wasn’t great—we dropped points and are currently in fourth place, behind Cameroon, Libya, and Cape Verde," Akwa told Flashscore.com.
"That makes it more difficult to reach first place, but in football, you have to believe. Right now, I think we’re in good form. If we can win all our remaining games, we’ll have a chance.
"The toughest match will likely be against Cameroon because we drew against them at home, so we’ll need to win on their ground. 
"It will be difficult, but if the team continues to play as they have been, I truly believe we can achieve this."
Angola are enjoying an impressive unbeaten streak, having gone 15 matches without a loss in all competitions. Their most recent defeat came on March 22nd, 2024, when they were beaten 1-0 by Morocco in an international friendly.
For context, they achieved 10 wins and five draws during this unbeaten run, netting 24 goals in the process. If they maintain this form, the four-time COSAFA Cup champions could secure one of Africa's spots for the tournament billed for the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Should they fail to qualify, the former Benfica player would not consider it a failure for Goncalves' team. Nevertheless, he remains confident in his compatriots' ability to deliver and believes they have the potential to succeed.
He continued: "I don't think like that. We started poorly in our World Cup qualification campaign. At the beginning, many players weren't in top form because the season had just started. 
"We started badly—we drew against Cape Verde in a match we had the chance to win, but we didn’t. After that, I think we also drew with Cameroon and dropped points against some smaller national teams. That was the problem.
"Now, we have to give it our all. Like I said, it’s more difficult this time because only one team will qualify, and maybe the best second-placed team will go to the playoffs. 
"It’s tough, but I’m Angolan, and I must believe in my national team. I have faith in our team and in the quality of our players. I really hope we can qualify for the World Cup for the second time."
Akwa claims the Angola senior national team is getting strong owing to the depth of quality in the squad and the impact of coach Goncalves.
"I think Angola also they are growing up because now we have also a lot of players they are playing in Europe, they are playing also in South Africa, sorry South America with a good club," he added.
"We have also players they're born in Europe now they are coming to our national team and we have a coach also he's now five years with our national team. 
"He knows very well the players so I think this is the that's why we are now doing a good job. When Goncalves started, he had some challenging times and losses. 
"But, you know, in any project, you need time. The Angola Football Association gave him that time, and now we have a much stronger team. 
"Many of the players, like Zito, have been with him since the Under-17s, when they qualified for the World Cup in Brazil. That's why the results are now reflecting the hard work and progress."
After coaching Angola's U17 and U20 teams, Portuguese tactician Goncalves was promoted to head the senior national team, where he exceeded expectations and silenced his critics. 
In addition to leading the country to their best AFCON group-stage performance in Cote d'Ivoire, he made history on September 5th, 2024, by surpassing Oliveira Goncalves’ record of 24 wins, becoming Angola’s most successful manager ever after defeating Ghana.
Angola will continue their quest for a World Cup spot as they travel to Libya on March 16th.
Retrouvez nos conseils sur www.joueurs-info-service.fr (09-74-75-13-13, appel non surtaxé)
18+ Jogue com responsabilidade

source

Post Views: 3