With the title of African runner-up, and consequent qualification for the Futsal World Championship, which will be played from September 14th to October 6th, in Uzbekistan, the Portuguese coach guarantees that Angola will face its opponents in a fearless manner.
“Angolan futsal will never be the same: it is inevitable and a fact. And the objective is to always play eye-to-eye regardless of the opponent, as it is for Angola. And when this is the case, and in the name of an honorable country, we will always have to give the best response and attitude” he guaranteed.
Regarding the Angolan campaign in the recent African futsal tournament, in which it was defeated in the final by Morocco (5-1), Marcos Antunes, who guided Angola to its best participation ever, after third place achieved in 2020, considered the feat epic achieved.
“It was an epic and historic moment: we were competent, strategically organized and very strong mentally. I add to all these factors, the pure and natural patriotism of the athletes and technical team, which started with the anthem and ended with the flag always present at all times” he said.
With his name marked in the history of Angolan and African futsal, Marcos Antunes expressed a feeling of pride for the title of African runner-up.
“I have the honor and enormous pride. I am in history, thanks to my players, and this will echo for eternity. We always believed, I always believed and I was informed of our intentions and objectives. We certainly had the lowest budget of all the national teams present, so being runner-up, and consequently being present at the World Cup in Uzbekistan, is extraordinary and a feat that goes down in the history of futsal and Angolan sport”, he highlighted.
The coach also expressed satisfaction with the working conditions available to the technical team and players.
“In terms of conditions, I'm not much for complaining but rather adding quality and work to the conditions we have. There was a great effort by President Manuel Patrício to create and make available to us the best possible conditions. If we continue this path of institutional support, we will certainly be very well represented in the futsal World Cup”, he concluded.
