We were afraid before the game, but the relief is now huge. We definitely learnt the right lessons from the first game against Mali. The defence in particular was very organised and focused, giving Malawi no chance to score. I’d say Flavio and Djalma were the match winners, but unfortunately they were both injured during the game and we don’t know yet whether they will be available for the next match. With three goals already, Flavio is the tournament’s top goal scorer and we need him badly. Still, I am confident we will qualify for the next round. The match against Algeria will be tough, but the team will go at least for a draw and I think they will win. Both the squad and the Angolan people are brimming with confidence now – and we can always count on our lucky star Mantorras, who was greeted by rapturous applause when he stepped on to the field as a substitute yesterday."

We were very bad last night. The least we expected was a draw, but nothing went our way. I think the players were affected by the atmosphere in the stadium, with Angolan fans turning out en masse to support the hosts. Somehow, we seem to be unable to do well in away games. During the qualifiers we won pretty much all of our games at home, but then we always lost away. Hopefully this won’t be a problem against Mali. The mood here is now downcast, but I still think we can pull off a surprise."