Angola head coach, Pedro Gonçalves has expressed his excitement over his side’s performance in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023 despite their exit in the quarter-finals.
After losing to Nigeria in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Côte d'Ivoire 2023 on Friday evening, Angola coach Pedro Gonçalves made no secret of his admiration for the system his opponents had put in place to defeat them.
“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," he said after the game.
The Palancas Negras boss also touched on the details that his charges lacked in the game against 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 explained.
This was Angola's third quarter-final appearance in the competition. They had not reached this stage of the tournament since 2010 when they hosted.
Advancing to this level of the competition 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 the Angolan national team. I am aware of the work I have done with my team, nobody expected Angola to reach the quarter-finals," he concluded.
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.