Group D
Portugal 1, Angola 0Angola met Portugal for the first time in a competitive soccer match on Sunday.
The result was the same as the teams' two previous unfriendly friendlies: Portugal won.
PHOTO: EPA
The Portuguese team edged its former colony 1-0 in Group D of the World Cup. When the two countries met in 1999 and 2001, the Portuguese outscored the Black Antelopes 10-1.
This time, it was a lot closer.
"We knew it was going to be a tough match but I think we played well and can be proud of our performance," Angola midfielder Figueiredo said.
Portugal dominated the early stages of the match, and Pauleta nearly gave the European team the lead after a few seconds. About three minutes later he did score, giving his team a 1-0 lead that it held on to despite Angola's increasingly strong play.
"We tried to get a second goal ... but it wasn't possible," Pauleta said. "A World Cup match is always difficult, even against Angola, which is not as strong a team as Portugal."
Some local fans even began cheering for the African team as Angola proved its defense had improved significantly since it lost all three of its World Cup warmups.
The Black Antelopes also played better than they did earlier at this year's African Cup of Nations, when they lost to Cameroon and Congo before beating Togo and failing to reach the quarterfinals.
Against Portugal, Angola previously lost 6-0 and 5-1, with the latter match ending 20 minutes early after four Angolan players were sent off for brutal tackles and dissent.
On Sunday, the defense improved as the match wore on, despite the absence of Yamba Asha, who was suspended for doping and can't play at the tournament in Germany.
But defender Kali said his team had time to improve before meeting Mexico in its next match on Friday.
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