Cape Verde hammers Mozambique, flies into knockout stage
Cape Verde made history as the first team to progress to the knockout stage at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after they defeated Mozambique by 3-0.
Goals from Dias Correia (32 minutes), Mendes da Graça (51 minutes), and Gonçalves Pereira de Pina (69 minutes) helped the Blue Sharks secure their ticket to the next round.
Speaking after the game, Ryan Mendes said their first mission in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 was to qualify for the knockout stage and they have achieved it.
This follows their 3-0 win over Mozambique on Friday afternoon at the Félix Houphouët Boigny stadium in Abidjan.
Mendes who emerged as the TotalEnergies Man of the Match said their fans played a key part in the victory and it felt like playing at home.
“They pushed us throughout the match. We had this feeling of playing at home, we couldn’t disappoint them,” he said.
Cape Verde recorded a 2-1 win over Ghana in their opening game.
The Blue Sharks captain added that they wanted to show that the win was not a fluke.
“We wanted at all costs to confirm our good outing against Ghana and above all to qualify for the next round. We are the first nation to have acquired our qualification. We have just accomplished our first mission. Now we will rest and recover before the next match,” he added.
Cape Verde will play Egypt this Monday, 22 January at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium, at 20h00.
