Istanbul - The National Amputee Football Team face Brazil National Squad this Thursday, at 2 pm, with the Angolan side focussing on winning the World Cup for the second consecutive time, an event which is taking place in Istanbul, Turkey.
This quarter-final match, taking place at the Turkey Football Federation complex, brings together teams that know each other very well. The last time they faced each other was in 2018, in the semi-finals of the World Cup held in Mexico.
With a persistent 1-1 draw in the 50th minute, it was necessary the advantage of extra time for Augusto Cheto´s players to resolve the situation, Angola scored through Heno Guilherme and José Candeeiro.
The Angolan team then went on to face hosts Turkey in the final, winning 5-4 on penalties, due to a persistent tie that was cancelled until extra time.
The truth is that both CPLP countries are back in the field again in a knockout stage with the same players as before. Angola, for example, has only four debutants, the defenders Paciência Félix and Rocha Manuel, winger Lucas Fungula and goalkeeper Augusto Lilito.
In a statement to ANGOP on Wednesday, the national coach, Augusto Cheto, said that Angola will face a strong opponent technically, but not so physically, and Angola will focus on the latter issue.
The coach mentioned also that the physical condition of the players and speed as being the points that differentiate them from the remaining competitors.
He expressed anxiety as an issue to overcome, considering Wednesday´s match in which Angola beat England, 1-0, but had to suffer until shortly into extra time to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.
“The team went in determined to solve the match early and as the goals did not come in the intial period, anxiety ended up influencing the approach to the game, which fortunately ended with victory”, he said, adding that after dialogue, he hopes that against Brazil it will be different.
The national squad players are goalkeepers Jesus Mateus, Sebastião Cacumba and Lilito Augusto, defenders Félix Paciência, Francisco Amaro, Celestino Elias and Rocha Manuel, midfielders Laurindo Lucamba, Hilário Cufula and Jesus Morais and forwards Sabino António, José Candeeiro, Lucas Fungula, João Chiquete and Heno Guilherme.
