The head coach of Cape Verde, Pedro Bristo was moderate about his team’s 1-0 victory over Mauritania in the Round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Abidjan on Monday.
Cape Verde made history by claiming their first-ever AFCON knockout-phase victory.
Bristo said the win was not an easy one for his team whiule he congratulated the coach of his opponent for a good display.
“It was an extremely complicated match. I wish to congratulate the Mauritanians for the match. The team played from the beginning to the end of the game. The victory was well deserved,” Bristo told journalists after the match.
“I am the coach. You know when the players are excited, I need to be focused because i manage the squad. We knew that the game will be tough because Mauritania had a peculiar way of playing and we need to find a solution to it.
“We are trying to draw our path and we know that we have played with several teams that are as good as we are. We always make sure we improve when it comes to the quality of our games to have the capacity to face the big teams. We might be inferior to some of them. We had to read the game fast. Our idea is to improve and be prepared to face stronger teams.”
With the Round of 16 done and dusted, Bristo is now focused on their next game with new aim for the tournament.
“Mauritania is a very difficult team to face. During this tournament, they have warriors that can defend very well. I think they actually deserve to win because they are also a good team.” He continued.
“We have always been working with the team. We are looking at doing everything possible to make sure that our plyers are conscious of everything expected of them. Our team is very young. We kept being a very good team, believing and sticking together. The objective from day one is to get to the semi final and we are closer to it. We will continue to work and fight to achieve our objective.
“Like I underline, the first objective is to make it to this stage and then the semi final. If we get to the semi final, we can work to get to the final because we have a great team and weapon. We have all what it takes to offer victory.” He concluded.
The Blus Sharks will next face Morocco or South Africa in the quarter-finals in Yamoussoukro on Saturday.
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