In 1986, Angola signed up for the FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds for the first time.

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On their debut Angola failed narrowly against Algeria, while four years later they were beaten by Cameroon. A single victory in the next round of qualifiers against Togo was insufficient to keep their finals dream alive, while in the 1998 qualifiers even four victories was not enough to take them through.

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Angola’s performance improved in subsequent years. In 2000 they celebrated a record 7-1 triumph over Swaziland before finishing second behind Cameroon. In the preliminary qualifiers for the 2006 WC, Angola battled their way past Chad.