World Cup: Akwa expects surprise

Angolan captain Fabrice Akwa expected he and his teammates would bring a surprise in their first-ever finals at the imminent FIFA World Cup, slated for June 9-July 9 in Germany.

"We know the favorites in our group are Portugal and Mexico, but we are going there to surprise these teams," said the 28-year-old striker, who was recently named his country's top sportsman for 2005 after scoring the goal that sealed the historic qualification.

Akwa got the only goal of the win in Rwanda last October that enabled Angola to finish ahead of Nigeria in their qualifying group.

The former Benfica star, who is searching for a club after having his contract with Al Wakrah in Qatar cancelled earlier this year, hit a hat-trick in a recent victory over Mauritius in Lesotho after Angola was eliminated in the first round of the African Cup in Egypt in January.

For coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves, Akwa's sparkling performance couldn't have been better timed in the tournament, which helped Angola qualify for the semifinals of the annual regional southern African championships in August this year.

"The hat-trick really helps him psychologically at a crucial time and I think it sets his mind at ease before the World Cup," FIFAworldcup.com quoted Goncalves as saying.

"He knows he did not do well in Egypt, but this performance is very good for him, and for the team," added Goncalves, who is known as the professor of Angolan football.

Akwa, who turns 29 on the eve of the World Cup, said they would try and do better than in African Cup.

"We have to fight in all the games, have to do our best, run more than Portugal. We want to play good games and show our football to the world," he said.

"This is the first time we are in the finals and we want to show off our football. We also want to show there is more to Angola than just war and oil," he added.

Angola first will meet Portugal on June 11 at the finals, then will have an conversation with Mexico five days later. If the team fails to advance to the second round, the final group match against Iran on June 21 will be Akwa's last for the national squad.

"After the World Cup I'm going to stop playing for the national team," Akwa said.

Source: Xinhua