Angola overpower Mozambique to make winning start at Futsal AFCON
Angola made an impressive start to their TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 campaign with a convincing 5-1 victory over COSAFA rivals Mozambique in their Group B opener in Rabat on Tuesday.
The 2024 runners-up underlined their credentials as potential title challengers with an accomplished display at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, scoring three first-half goals to take control of the contest.
Aderito Santos opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Anderson Fortes and Hornes Espirito added further goals to give Angola a commanding advantage at the interval.
Mozambique briefly threatened a comeback when Vasco Mateus pulled a goal back, but Angola quickly restored their dominance.
Santos grabbed his second of the match before Joao Cambangula added a fifth, with the two goals coming in the space of a minute to put the result beyond doubt.
The victory leaves Angola second in Group B behind three-time champions Egypt, who opened their campaign with an emphatic 8-0 victory over debutants Tanzania earlier on Tuesday.
Angola will look to take another significant step towards the semi-finals when they face Tanzania on Thursday, before concluding their group-stage programme with a potentially decisive clash against Egypt on Saturday.
Mozambique, who were runners-up at the continental championship in 2004 and finished third in 2016, face a more difficult route to the knockout rounds following their opening defeat.
They must now regroup for a meeting with Egypt on Thursday before taking on Tanzania in their final pool fixture on Saturday, with victories potentially required in both matches to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The other COSAFA representative at the eight-team tournament, Zambia, made a flying start with a 3-1 victory over former champions Libya in their Group A opener on Monday.
Royd Chishala scored after just two minutes before Patrick Mwila struck twice to give Zambia a commanding three-goal advantage. Mohammed Abu Raas scored a late consolation for Libya.
Zambia face their toughest examination yet when they meet hosts and defending champions Morocco on Wednesday.
The Moroccans, who have won the last three editions of the competition, began their title defence with an impressive 4-0 victory over Algeria.
Zambia will complete their Group A fixtures against Algeria on Friday as they seek a first appearance in the semi-finals.
The top two teams in each group advance to the last four, with the tournament concluding on 21 October.
