With more than 30 touches of the ball, Guima was the man in all the offensive phases of their drama-filled 2-2 draw on the second day of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
When receiving the TotalEnergies Man of the Match trophy, the midfielder told CAFonline.com, “It’s an indescribable feeling. It’s my first AFCPN and I’m so proud to be here. I am proud of my team. We stood up to Egypt. We want to showcase Mozambican talent to the world.”
This draw against the Pharaohs will serve as a springboard for the rest of the competition according to Guima.
“We really believe we will go far, we think big, we know we can beat any team” he boldy stated.
For the fourth time, Mozambique faced Egypt, the first three matches ended in Egyptian victories until this Sunday when Condé Chiquinho’s men held a result and this penalty awarded to Mo Salah.
This was the fourth meeting between the two sides, with the previous three going Egypt’s way until Conde Chiquinho’s men stood resolute on Sunday.
Also, the usually jovial coach Conde Chiquinho appeared to be visibly disheartened after his side let go of a lead to 2-2 draw.
“We were so close. The result was almost in our hands. However, it is up to us to work harder so that this does not happen again”, said a disappointed Chiquinho.
After conceding in as early as the second minute, Chiquinho says the goal did not startle his side.
“The opening goal did not disturb our plan. It actually it motivated us to play even harder”.
Concluding his remarks on the match, Chiquinho said even though they managed to hold the former champions to a draw, he was not satisfied with getting a point in a match that he feels could have gone their way.
“I feel like I have completed my task. We are sad and that is a good thing because we are not satisfied with what we got today” concluded the Mozambican tactician.
The Mozambicans be hoping to hold on to a lead should they score first when the face Cape Verde in their second match on Thursday, January 18.