Angola captain Kali has revealed confidence is high in the home camp ahead of their final African Nations Cup group match against Algeria.
The hosts, who currently top Group A with four points after a draw and win from their first two games, need at least a point to secure a place in the quarter-finals, but they will have to be cautious of their opponents.
The north Africans have had a mixed tournament thus far and, after being humiliated by Malawi in their opening match, bounced back with a win over Mali to keep their hopes alive.
“We did not sleep well after the Mali match but we have now shown our strength,” said Kali, in reference to the opening game of the competition, which saw them squander a 4-0 lead to draw 4-4.
“Algeria will be tough to beat but we have high morale in our camp.”
Coach Manuel Jose was equally positive ahead of the game and made clear his intentions to top the group.
He said: “I thought we played as well against Mali as we did against Malawi. The only difference was us gifting all those goals in the last minutes of our first game.
“The feeling now is so much better and to be first in the group would be our first choice.”
The Angolans have not been short of goals either, scoring six in their opening two games.
However, they may have to do without top-scorer Flavio Amado, who limped off in the last game with a hamstring problem.
The Al-Shabab striker is a doubt along with midfielder Gilberto.
Algeria boss Rabah Saadane, meanwhile, believes his World Cup-bound side are right back in the competition after the 1-0 win over Mali.
It was a good response following their opening match humbling, which saw them thumped 3-0 by the Malawian minnows.
Saadane said: “The win has given the perfect answer to all our critics. I did my calculations before and six points should be enough to qualify.
“I didn’t put any pressure on my team, I told them to go out and enjoy themselves. They responded well with a positive result.”
Midfielder Karim Ziani added: “The result has renewed our hopes in the competitions.”
The Desert Hawks will have to make do without Khaled Lemmouchia, who left the squad last week due to family reasons, but the rest of the players are all fit.
