Judilson Mamadu Gomes ‘Pele’ says Guinea-Bissau will give “everything” to secure a win over Egypt in Saturday’s Africa Cup Nations’ fixture.
Cande’s men are determined to beat the Pharaohs to boost their hopes of reaching the competition’s knockout phase, the AS Monaco star has declared
The West Africans, who are making their third appearance in the biennial African football showpiece, settled for a disappointing 0-0 draw against Sudan in Garoua.
Despite dominating ball possession and creating numerous scoring opportunities, the Djurtus failed to silence the Falcons of Jediane.
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Baciro Cande’s men lie in second place in the table, however, they must negotiate their way past the wounded Egyptians to fancy their chances of progressing.
With victory perhaps offering their most realistic route of a place in the Round of 16, Pele is determined to respond to Tuesday’s unsatisfactory result with a win over the North Africans.
“It will be a very difficult game but we will fight and give everything to get the three points,” Pele – who represents AS Monaco in Ligue 1 told GOAL.
“Our target is to qualify for the next round so we know what is at stake.
“We must fight hard to come back against Egypt and Nigeria but it will not be easy at all.”
With eight minutes left to play against Sudan, the Djurtus were handed a penalty by Senegalese referee Issa Sy following a foul in the box by Algozoli Hussien.
Pele stepped up to take the ensuing kick, albeit, it was saved by goalkeeper Ali Abu-Eshrein who guessed the right way.
The 30-year-old was subsequently subbed off for Panutche Camara a minute later.
He talked about why he wanted to take the kick while apologising to his compatriots for letting them down.
“I wanted to score the goal to give my chance a great opportunity of winning, but that did not happen,” he continued.
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“I think we played very well, we tried to win the game while I had the chance to score a penalty which I missed.
“I still feel bad about that and I apologise to our dear fans and my teammates for that miss, and I assure them that I will keep working hard.”
Born in Agualva-Cacem, Portugal, the talented midfielder represented the Portuguese national team at U18, U19, U20 and U20 levels before switching allegiance to the African country in 2017.
