Photo Credit: Angola Football Federation.
Former Angola women national team captain Irene Goncalves believes the game against Zimbabwe in Women African Cup of Nation (WAFCON) will be a tough encounter. The Welwitschias last qualification to the biggest continental tournament came in 2002.
Zimbabwe are the clear favorites to progress to the second round. According to VisualFoot, the difference in quality is visible to Goncalves, who happens to be the Angolan Football Federation vice president for women football. “Despite the remarkable difference in the roster of the two teams I still maintain my expectations. We still have something to prove.”
The Welwitschias entered a residential camp in Luanda to prepare for the tie under the guidance of coach Feliz Loide Maniho. Goncalves gave her support to the technical team ahead of the Zimbabwe doubleheader. “In this playoff, we can’t make significant changes to achieve what we want. But I am confident that the technical staff and the players will do everything to get us to the next round.”
Goncalves is the all-time Angola women national team top scorer with 33 goals. She appeared once in WAFCON in 2002 where she scored a goal in 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe.
Angola qualified twice for WAFCON and their best result was in 1995 where they reached the semi final before losing to South Africa 6-4 on aggregate.
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