• RYAN Mendes of Cape Verde (right) battles with Cedrick Mabwati of DR Congo during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations group B match on Thursday. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

From FELIX MALUNGA –

In Ebebiyin
CAPE Verde coach, Jose Rui Aguas has said both the Chipolopolo and the Blue Sharks deserve to reach the 2015 Orange Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-finals.
But Aguas said failure to convert several chances has left the two teams in a precarious situation.
Aguas said it was unfair for Zambia and Cape Verde to be heading into the final Group B match without a victory from the first two games and were now in the danger of missing out in the quarter-finals.
He said Zambia and Cape Verde were the best teams in the group which also has Tunisia and DR Congo but that football injustice had left them in a difficult situation.
Aguas said this in an interview at the team Hotel Inmaculada which the Blue Sharks are sharing with the Chipolopolo.
“I think it’s unfair for Zambia and Cape Verde to reach the third game in this position because we are the best teams in the group I am sure. Zambia and Cape Verde deserve to qualify because we deserve more,” he said.
He said it was a pity that his team that tried hard to score but failed and that there was injustice in football referring to the match between Zambia against Tunisia which the latter won 2-1 despite the Chipolopolo dominating.
“Zambia is less like us, they try to put the ball on the grass (ground) and play the way I believe is the best way because African players are very technical. There is no sense kicking the ball away every time like some teams do,” a straight-talking Aguas said.
Despite playing Zambia twice in the last AFCON qualifiers, Aguas, whose charges have drawn the two games here against Tunisia and Congo, said it was difficult to predict how the match would spurn out as both teams have changed a little bit.
“We try always to know teams better. We have played Zambia before and we have watched some games also but football is always moving differently and different players sometimes and the injuries sometimes like this time. We have to take care and pay attention to all players because they all good,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tunisia coach, Georges Leekens said the Carthage Eagles would treat their Group B clash against Congo tomorrow at Estadio de Bata like a final.
Leekens said Tunisia had the character to fight back like they did against Zambia but would now need to pay too much attention when facing the Leopards in the crucial tie.
He said the group was evenly balanced as all the four teams were formidable sides, making the last games tough.
Chipolopolo coach, Honour Janza said he would not make drastic changes to the team that lost 1-2 to Tunisia.
Tunisia lead the group on four points with Congo and Cape Verde tying on two points after drawing twice while Zambia has a single point at the bottom.
Group B is still open and all teams have chances of progressing to the quarter finals.