Afcon 2023: Angola out to prove critics wrong and deliver 'happiness'

As Angola prepare for their first Africa Cup of Nations knockout match in 14 years, captain Fredy says his side are motivated by proving their critics wrong.

Written off by many back home before travelling to the delayed 2023 finals in Ivory Coast, the Palancas Negras have made it past the opening round for the first time since reaching the last eight as hosts in 2010.

In addition, they won two games to top their pool - with both achievements Nations Cup firsts for them - and achieve their highest points total (seven) ahead of higher-ranked opponents Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

"In our country, the people weren't too confident in the team but this was extra motivation for us - to prove them wrong," Fredy told BBC Sport Africa.

"We are very happy because nobody expected this. Journalists said Algeria would beat us, but I said they need to prove it on the pitch. We have proved we are a tough team.

"Match by match, we have the feeling we can do something and the confidence is growing. Now we are among the best 16 teams [in Africa] and now we believe in the dream."

On Saturday, Angola take on neighbours Namibia in the last 16, with both sides looking to win a knockout game for the first time.

Both of the Palancas Negras' previous quarter-final appearances came when the Nations Cup finals had a 16-team format.

Angola fell behind against 2019 champions Algeria in their opening Group D game but responded with brave resistance as they fought back brilliantly to draw 1-1 thanks to striker Mabululu's second-half penalty.

A thrilling 3-2 win over what Fredy describes as "a very good" Mauritania followed - their first win in 10 outings at the finals, a run stretching back to 2012 - with Gelson Dala becoming the first Angolan to score twice at the tournament in 12 years.

The southern Africans knew a win against Burkina Faso in their final group outing would ensure top spot, and Mabululu and Zine netted in a 2-0 win to equal the country's record tally of goals in a group stages (six).

They had previously achieved that, and last gone through a group stage unbeaten, on home soil 14 years ago, and the thought of those back in Angola is also driving the team on.

"People have been dancing, having fun and everyone is like this in the country now but in Angola, the lifestyle is not easy," midfielder Fredy said.

"These wins give them happiness and this makes us very proud - it is one of the best motivations we have.

"I was lucky as my mother and father moved my five brothers and I to Portugal and gave us a different life, but I played in Angola for a year and a half and saw how hard it is to live there.

"The players and I know this and we know that even if people don't have bread to eat at night, if we win they can sleep. Even if it isn't the best way, we know it can help.

"We are trying to do everything and fighting for them to give more moments like this."

Despite having one of the world's fastest-growing economies thanks to vast mineral and oil reserves, economic growth is highly uneven in Angola.

According to a United Nations-backed website,, external an average of 54% of Angolans "experience multi-dimensional forms of poverty" - covering not only income but nutrition, education and child mortality among other factors.

Just like Nations Cup holders Senegal, who won their first continental title seven years into the reign of coach Aliou Cisse, one of the keys to Angola's success has been the longevity of Portuguese coach Pedro Goncalves.

Having first started coaching in 1997 and then spent over a decade with the youth academy of Sporting Lisbon in his homeland, the 47-year-old has been in Angola since 2015.

He initially coached the youth sides of top club Primeiro de Agosto before taking charge of Angola's Under-17 side in 2018, taking them to the last 16 in their first World Cup a year later.

Three of that squad - Zine, Zito Luvumbo and Beni - travelled to Ivory Coast.

"Pedro is the best example of how to develop football in Angola," said Fredy, a former Portugal youth international.

"He took these players from the Under-17s and when he came to the first team, he said to me 'Fredy, with the young players and the experienced players, we can do something amazing'. He has proved it."

Goncalves has had to do without Beni, however, after the midfielder asked to return to his Portuguese Primeira Liga club Casa Pia after failing to play in the opening two games, while Loide Augusto - who played the first game against Algeria - has left the camp for disciplinary reasons.

Those left behind in Ivory Coast are a tight-knit group, which the captain credits for their bright start to 2024.

Angola entered this year with just one goal from nine hours of play, and Fredy says the squad's "family relationship" has been crucial in their upturn in fortunes.

"We respect each other and have a very good connection," the 33-year-old added.

"We also have experience. A lot of these players moved to Europe and when they did, the mindset changed, and they started to believe more and become more professional.

"And Pedro is a very good guy. He's open and listens to what the team says - he's not like those coaches who think they know everything. He gives us confidence, is one of us and tactically, he's a smart guy.

"Without him, we cannot do what we've done."

Striker Mabululu, with his dreadlocks and elaborate celebration which he told BBC Sport Africa is supposed to mimic a lion, is one of several Angolans to have stepped up when needed.

After being called up in late 2022 after two years out of the international game, his 13 games since have returned four goals, including two in the ongoing Nations Cup for the Egypt-based 34-year-old.

"Mabululu is an amazing guy, is fun and loves to score goals - he has this hunger," said Fredy.

"He is an example for the young players that when the time comes, you need to be ready and he has shown he is ready every time."

The same can be said of domestic-based midfielder Gilberto, only in the squad after Fiorentina's M'bala Nzola turned down his call-up to focus on his Serie A career, and his club team-mates Eddie Afonso and Kinito.

All three play in the Angolan top flight with Petro Atletico, who have impressed in this season's African Champions League.

"It's amazing motivation for us because you look at these guys and they are ready and they'll fight for us. I want to thank them, and say 'congratulations - keep it going'," Fredy added.

In Bouake, where Angola have been based since the start of the competition, the team ranked 117th in the world will face neighbours Namibia (ranked at 115) for the right to play either Cameroon or Nigeria in the quarter-finals.

"Namibia are like brothers but are a tough team and have improved a lot," Fredy said.

"If we beat them, we're in the quarter-finals and once you're there, you cannot think teams are better than you.

"Anything can happen in one match and you have these dreams because if you beat them, you can go to the semi-final and think 'OK guys, why not to the final?'.

"But we still have our feet on the ground, and know what we need to do."