Angola

Summary: After their sixth attempt, Angola's Palancas Negras finally made it to the World Cup. Twenty-one years since they first formed a team to prepare for the 1986 World Cup qualifiers in Mexico in order to compete for a place in the global football event on a July night in 1984, the Angola national team finally got their wish. After being drawn into Group 4 of the African Zone, Angola narrowly snatched the only ticket from under the nose of the powerful Nigerians. More importantly, coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves, known as the "Professor", led the team to a successful road to Germany. The winning formula was attributed to good team spirit and the ability to adapt to adversity. The Angolan team’s journey can be said to have had a rough start. They were forced to play qualifying against lowly Chad, resulting in a shocking 3-1 defeat in the first round in November 2003. After this "disaster", Brazilian coach Ismael Kurtz was sacked. In the second round, their captain Akwa led the Angola team to a 2-0 victory under the guidance of new coach Goncalves who was appointed at a critical moment. Thanks to this win, Angola qualified for the group stage, but the draw placed them in Group 4, alongside favorites Nigeria, along with Algeria, Gabon, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. Their prospects did not appear bright, especially as their previous total record included just two appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations (South Africa '96 and Burkina Faso '98), the 2001 African Under-20 Championship and a subsequent appearance at the World Youth Championship in Argentina. However, from the start of the Group 4 qualifiers, the Angolans showed that they could dominate at home, and this has undoubtedly become the cornerstone of their success. Luanda's Cidadela stadium soon became an impenetrable fortress as one after another their group opponents were defeated here, including Nigeria. With this good form at home, the Angolans know that if they can get some good results away from home, the right to qualify will be theirs. On June 18, 2005, they snatched a valuable point from Nigeria, a result that brought them level with the African Eagles on points and placed them top of Group 4. It was on this day that Angolans really began to believe that their dreams were about to become a reality. Although they had lost to Zimbabwe (their only defeat in the group stage), their new-found confidence was boosted by successful wins over Algeria and Gabon. At this point, the battle-hardened players have turned their attention to their final game away to Rwanda on 8 October. While Nigeria beat Zimbabwe 5-1 on the same day, Angola's 1-0 victory in Kigali means they are firmly on top of the group, thanks to the lead they gained in their encounter with the African Eagles. Angola beat Nigeria 1-0 in Luanda and held to a 1-1 draw in Kano. All observers unanimously praised the key role played by Angola captain Akwa. The former Benfica star now plays for Qatar. Although Akwa only scored three goals during the entire qualifying period, these three goals proved to be decisive. The scorer who helped the team advance to the group stage by defeating Chad in the qualifying round, he defeated their most important rival Nigeria in Luanda. According to the final analysis, it was this victory that solidified Angola's top spot in the group. However, the event that fundamentally established Akwa's place in Angolan football history was his fatal header into the Rwandan net in Kigali. The Angola team headed by Akwa may lack star players, but every member of the team played a very important role in its promotion. Key contributors to the team, such as Benfica's outstanding forwards Mantorras, Figueirido, Joao Pereira and football dancers Maurito and Ze Kalanga, all have reason to be proud. In addition, their achievements are also testimony to the "miracle man" of Angolan football, coach Goncalves, who knows people well and is good at his duties. He led a team that qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a squad that included many of the same players he had won the African Under-20 title and played in the second round of the 2001 World Youth Championship. Now, Angola's die-hard fans are calling for their savior to be offered a lifetime contract. Their hero on the field, Akwa, who is good at scoring winning goals, summed up the great journey of the Angola team as wonderfully as his goals: "We have proved to the world that Angola is not only about oil, war and poverty." Established 1979 Affiliated 1980 Number of World Cup participations None World Cup wins None Continental Champions COSAFA Cup (1999 and 2001) Other facts In 1986, Angola participated in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup for the first time. So far, the former Portuguese colony has yet to reach the finals. Angola lost by a narrow margin to Algeria on their debut and then lost to Cameroon four years later. A victory against Togo in the next round of qualifying was not enough to sustain their dream of reaching the finals, and even four wins in the 1998 qualifying round failed to bring them into the finals. Although they have always been defeated by those strong African teams, Angola's performance improved in the following years. In 2000, they celebrated a record 7-1 victory over Swaziland and later finished second in the qualifying group, trailing only Cameroon.