Luanda - The president of the Angolan Football Federation (FAF), Artur de Almeida, on Sunday in Luanda, ensured that Pedro Gonçalves will remain as coach of the Angolan team with its sights set on qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The official who was speaking on the sidelines of the honoring the national team, as part of the quarter-finals reached in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON`2023), taking place in Côte d`Ivoire, reiterated that the Pedro Gonçalves will continue to coach the team.
However, the federation leader did not detail about determining factors such as the need for a contractual renewal, given that the link between the parties set the end of the AFCON`2023 as the target.
After the quarter-final match, in which Angola lost 0-1 to Nigeria, missing out on the chance to qualify for the semi-finals of the Nations Cup for the first time, he wrote a text on his social networks that indicated that he was quitting, at a time when Estrela de Amadora was looking to hire him.
The coach's career in Angola began in 2015 with 1º de Agosto, where he became national champion, before joining the Angolan Football Federation in 2018.
He first coached the Under-17 national team, then the Under-20 and Under-23s, before taking over the senior national team.
He missed out on taking the National team to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but qualified them for the AFCON`2023 and had the chance to put Angola in the World Cup finals for the second time, in 2026, after Germany`2006.
In the AFCON`2023, which will be closed on the 11th in Côte d`Ivoire, Pedro Gonçalves placed Angola among the eight best African teams, taking into account the quarter-finals he reached.
However, this was already achieved in the 2008 (Ghana) and 2010 (Angola) editions.
The continental competition was due to take place in 2023, but was moved to this year due to heavy rains in the organising country. MC/MRA/DOJ
