© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday evening, at 22:00 Lithuanian time, the match between the national teams of Angola and Portugal from group D will take place. Angola is considered one of the weakest teams in the championship, so the Portuguese are the favorites for this match, as well as for the entire D group. Trinidad and Tobago players delivered a surprise on the second day of the championship, so Angola's team will also have the opportunity on June 11th to refute the critics' predictions.
Group D, Angola - Portugal Stadion: RheinEnergie, Cologne. Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Paraguay)
In this championship, Angola will be one of the six debutant national teams. Interestingly, it is the only team led by an African coach. Luis Oliveira Gonçalves took over the team during a difficult period and managed to lead the country to the World Cup for the first time. Before taking over as the coach of Angola, the strategist nicknamed "The Professor" had already achieved a considerable success when he won the African Nations Cup with Angola's youth team in 2001.
It may seem strange, but for a world-class team like Portugal, this will be only the fourth World Cup. Portugal made its debut in such competitions back in 1966 in England and performed excellently, finishing in third place. However, the next two attempts, which had to be waited for very long, were very unsuccessful. In 1986 in Mexico and in 2002 in Japan and South Korea, the team failed to advance past the group stage. So much is expected from the team this year, especially since it is the last chance to shine once again in front of the whole world for players like L. Figo, P. Pauleta, and F. Costinha.
The coach of Portugal is the well-known Brazilian strategist Luis Felipe Scolari. It was this coach who led the Brazilian national team to victory in the 2002 World Cup, and after becoming the head coach of Portugal in the 2004 European Championship, he led the team to the final, only to lose to the Greeks there. It is also optimistic that after losing to Greece, the Portuguese national team has not lost in 14 consecutive international matches.
Team News
Angola In the Angola camp, the good news is that forward Galiano Mateus has recovered from an injury and will be able to play in the first match. The player himself said that everything is going well for him and he is ready to play against the finalists of the European Championship. Not only G. Mateus, but also the other team members were optimistic. The players admitted that Portugal is a world-class team, so it is hard to find a weak spot in their game, but the Angolan goalkeeper promised that they will try to surprise the world.
Coaches and players do not hide that they will have to focus all their attention on defense against Portugal, as this is the most advantageous tactic for these matches. Players urge not to forget that unexpected things happen in football and the stronger team does not always win.
"It is true, we, Angolan players, are a little nervous before the match against Portugal, but we are definitely preparing for these matches. Sometimes weaker teams beat stronger teams," said defender Edson de Jesus Nobre.
Meanwhile, other players were simply delighted with the opportunity to participate in the championship: "After a civil war that lasted for thirty years, Angola playing in the World Cup is the best thing that could happen to our country," Elvio Patricio rejoiced.
Portugal The biggest and probably the only question mark hangs over Deco's participation in the first championship matches. The team's attacking organizer clashed with his teammate F. Costinha during Friday's training session, and it is still not entirely clear whether Deco will be able to play. If Deco cannot appear on the field, coach F. Scolari will have to make several changes to his lineup, most likely replacing Deco in the center with veteran L. Figo, while C. Ronaldo and Simao would play on the wings. However, the coach believes that his team's engine will recover in time. Earlier injured players N. Gomez and L. Boa have already returned to the squad and are ready for the team's first matches.
The coach is actively concerned not only with match tactics but also with the discipline of the players during the matches. Recently, F. Scolari warned the temperamental player C. Ronaldo not to fall for the opponents' provocations and to control his emotions. According to the coach, C. Ronaldo's opponents often try to provoke him, and if they succeed, Cristiano always reacts emotionally.
"He should not pay attention to that and not show emotions. The whole team helps him understand that the referee does not always see the fouls. Cristiano has a good character and respects his teammates, so I believe he will be able to change," said the coach.
"The Journey" to the World Championships
The Portuguese journey to the championship was truly impressive - in their qualifying group, Portugal finished first and ended the qualifying tournament without losing a single match. The Portuguese achieved their biggest victory against Russia, "routining" the opponents 7-1.
It was much more difficult for the Angolan national team. The team barely managed to break into the African qualifying matches - the first qualifying match against Chad was lost 3-1, but a victory in the return match 2-0 allowed Angola to compete in the qualifying matches. In the group stage, the team surprised everyone by finishing first and earning the right to participate in the World Cup for the first time. By the way, the Angolan team finished first in the group and surpassed Nigeria only due to a better head-to-head record.
Preparation for the Championship
In preparation for the final tournament, Angola played six friendly matches, from which they obtained two victories. However, the victories were achieved against very weak opponents - in the matches played in Lesotho, Angola beat Mauritius 5-1 and Lesotho 3-1. All other friendly matches were lost, but Angola should not be written off immediately, as the team's opponents were indeed serious: a one-goal difference against South Korea, Turkey, the United States, and a 2-0 loss to one of the championship favorites, Argentina.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese players did not pay much attention to friendly matches and played only three. They defeated Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia 3-0 and beat the team from Cape Verde 4-1.
Previous Encounters
Angola and Portugal have played only two friendly matches to date, and the Portuguese won both with overwhelming dominance. In a match in Lisbon in March 1989, the hosts triumphed 6-0, while in 2001, also in the Portuguese capital, the Angolan national team was crushed 5-1. By the way, the latter match was particularly memorable because four Angolan players were sent off the field for rough play. Interestingly, Angola had already taken the lead in the first minute of the match. The game was interrupted twenty minutes before the usual time, as the guests were left to play with six men after one Angolan player got injured, and all substitutions had already been used.
Predicted Lineups
Angola: Ricardo, Loco, Jamba, Kali, Delgado, Ze Kalanga, Andre, Figueiredo, Edson, Andre Titi Buengo, Akwa.
Portugal: Ricardo, Miguel, Carvalho, Meira, Valente, Costinha, Maniche, Figo, Deco, Ronaldo, Pauleta.
