Abidjan —
The Angolan team received strong support in the game against Nigeria at the Félix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, in Abidjan, on Friday, 2, counting for the round of 16 of CAN 2023.
More than 500 Angolans came from Luanda, on flights sponsored by private companies and the public airline TAAG.
They joined the residents of Abidjan and cheered the Palancas Negras throughout the game.
Before the start of the match, the players approached the stands where the fans were to greet and thank them for their presence.
Despite being eliminated due to a 0-1 defeat, the Angolans were satisfied with the team’s performance and now look to the World Cup.
PR welcomes the selection and says that “the next CAN is ours”
In Luanda, the President of the Republic, with the game still underway, wrote on a social network: “Força Palancas. Força Angola. The Nation is united. We will win”.
In the end, João Lourenço stated that “in this CAN we did well, but we need to improve, learning from our mistakes”.
“Don’t be discouraged. The next one (CAN) will be ours, we only depend on all of us, on MINJUD, FAF, Palancas (Negras) and all Angolan fans”, concluded Lourenço.
Angola finished the first phase in first place in group D and eliminated Namibia in the round of 16, but lost to Nigeria in the quarter-finals.