Morocco Dominates Angola 5-2 in Futsal Africa Cup of Nations Opener

The Angolans did surprise by taking the lead as early as the seventh minute through Helber Garcia. But Soufiane Charraoui then scored a hat-trick to turn the score around and allow the Atlas Lions to win in front of a crowd won over to their cause at the ultra-modern Prince Moulay Abdellah Complex.

Angolan coach Marcos Antunes acknowledged the superiority of his opponent: "Morocco is on another level. It is very difficult to try to adapt the players to a situation like that of the Moroccan coach who won the match. My players showed intensity, desire and passion, and were able to compete in sequences, but the individual quality of the Moroccans made the difference. Angola also has good individual players, and we are trying to make them understand that the collective is what matters, which we lacked today."

Despite the defeat, Marcos Antunes takes the positive: "It was a fantastic experience for my players, because they are very young and they need to live this kind of moment to develop futsal in Angola. At times, we were at the same level, but we cannot always play at that level, and against Morocco, it is very difficult. I don’t like to lose, but I’m happy with the attitude of my players."

Moroccan coach Hicham Dguig nuanced the easy victory suggested by the score: "As expected, the match was very difficult. I had said it on Tuesday, but we played well and it was good for the public, because it was a suspenseful match. They [the Angolans] know us by heart, they watch our matches and they know everything about us, while I don’t know them much. They have players who play in Portugal and it was difficult. Now we know more about them. The most important thing is to create more chances and try to score."

Supported by a well-attended crowd for their first match since the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania, the Moroccans were able to react after conceding the opening goal. Hicham Dguig also took the time to salute the performance of Soufiane Charraoui, author of a hat-trick: "He is a very talented player, that’s why he was selected by the Netherlands, but he chose to represent his roots."

Morocco will face Zambia on Saturday, April 13 for the top-of-the-table clash at 8pm GMT, while Angola and Ghana will battle for a result at 5pm GMT.