Africa-Press – Angola. The National Football Team can qualify for the 2026 World Cup, in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, if there is the commitment of the team, Government and Angolan society, he said (Wednesday), in Luanda, the former international Fabrice Alcebiades Maieco “Akwá”.
The former captain of the Palancas Negras, who scored the goal that qualified Angola for the 2006 World Cup, in Germany, said that due to the positive performance in the African Championship (CAN’2023), in Côte d’Ivoire, the team has the capacity to beat the next opponents.
He added that after CAN’2023, with a positive result of Angola, being eliminated in the quarter-finals, by Nigeria, now, the Angolan Football Federation (FAF) must start working on creating conditions, which allow for a better prepared and stronger group.
“It was a very positive participation in CAN, in which the objectives were achieved. The results were historic and (6th) sixth position in the general classification. The FAF management did a good job, even with the inherent difficulties, it managed to unite the fans with the national team,” he said.
He explained that the country, as a whole, wants the Angolan team to compete again in the World Cup, to this end it must count on the support of the FAF, government institutions and others, so that the players can be equipped with competitive abilities to overcome opponents in the African qualifiers.
He added the need to work in advance, taking into account that the double journey at home should be taken advantage of, to obtain six (6) points, facing the other challenges with greater morale from the national team.
Likewise, Akwá called for greater engagement on the part of the members of the National Team, especially those who play outside the country, so that they have a patriotic feeling, as a positive performance can influence the improvement of their professional contracts at the clubs.
The former star also claimed that all Angolan players in good shape and available should be called up to represent their country, regardless of where they are, like defender Bastos Quissanga, from Botafogo, in Brazil. , among others, that should be summoned.
As for qualification, Angola and Cape Verde are in qualifying Group D (African zone) for the 2026 World Cup, to be played from June 8th to July 19th, in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
In the same group are the teams from Cameroon, Eswatini, Mauritius and Libya.
African zonal qualification involves two rounds, with the top teams in each group guaranteeing direct qualification.
The four best runners-up will have to compete in a play-off to complete the group of 10 African nations that will go to the World Championship.
Angola, which faces, on June 5, 2024, Eswatini, in Luanda, in the third round, has two points in fourth place in the group. First place is occupied by Cameroon (4 pts), followed by Libya (4), Cape Verde (4), Mauritius (1) and Eswatini (0).
The Palancas Negras, the name of the Angolan team, were present at the World Cup held in Germany in 2006.
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