Angola coach credits serious approach for COSAFA Cup title defence

The Sable Antelopes thrashed Bafana Bafana 3-0 in the regional final at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein yesterday, with Depu netting a brace and Milson coming off the bench to put the final nail in the hosts’ coffin.

The Portugal-born coach shared their competitive approach to the tournament.

"This is a process, so congrats to the players who availed themselves to be here to challenge themselves and grow together as a team, and congrats to the whole coaching staff – they were brave, they work a lot always to overcome a lot of setbacks we face," said Goncalves.

"Now we are celebrating, we're very happy. In the beginning we proposed  to the players that we have an opportunity here to have competitive matches in a competitive environment, so it was wonderful opportunity from COSAFA for us to grow."

Goncalves, who has been part of Angolan football for more than seven years now, says their key against Bafana was employing different tactical systems.

"We value the tournament, it's very important, and my request to my national team coaching counterparts is to come here with your best team possible," he added.

"I tried, but I can say it's not easy when 12 names doesn't appear here that are usually in the line-up, so we are in a process and it's very important that players show they also bring value when taking an opportunity for the main team.

"So we did it, and now we're [continuing] not only in the AFCON but also in the World Cup qualifiers, which is hard for us to achieve, but we will fight until the end."

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