Guinea-Bissau Coach Upbeat Ahead of AFCON Finals

Guinea-Bissau national team head coach Baciro Cande says his team is capable of sparkling at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Djurtus are currently training in Lisbon as part of the preparation for the continental showpiece which kicks off from Friday, June 21st to Friday, July 19th, 2019.

Guinea-Bissau are the 150-1 title no-hopers according to international bookmakers, but they are plotting for the downfall of defending champions Cameroon in their AFCON group opener.

“Our first ambition at this moment is to go through the first phase, to reach the quarterfinals. In the first Africa Cup of Nations it was an experience, we were there but we did not have the experience, but this second time we will try to do our best,” Cande told reporters.

Guinea-Bissau were drawn in Group F alongside Ghana, Cameroon, and Benin but coach Cande is upbeat about his side’s good performance in the competition.

“We know in advance that Guinea Bissau is a small country and we do not have the strength that the other countries have like Cameroon, Ghana and Benin a very close team, but we will play our game in every game and I assure you that Guinea-Bissau will have a great performance,” he added.

Football success in recent years has brought a welcome change of image to a country ranked among the 10 poorest in the world by the United Nations.

Political turmoil is common and there have been numerous media reports of the country being a transit point for South American drugs en route to Europe.

Guinea Bissau finished top in Group K in the qualifiers, overcoming a strong challenge from Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia.

They begin their AFCON campaign against Cameroon on the fifth day of the competition, before squaring off against neighbours Benin on 29 June, followed by a clash against Ghana.

The competition’s new format – with 24 participants – means that even if they were to finish third in the group, they do stand a chance of progressing through to the next round.