Angola captain Akwa did not wait for the final whistle before bursting into tears. He was already sobbing with joy as his header floated over Rwanda goalkeeper Ramazani Nkunzingoma and into the net to give his country a 1-0 triumph and a FIFA World Cup™ finals berth.

Angola did exactly what they needed to in Saturday's Group 4 qualifier in Kigali but it took until the 80th minute for the Palancas Negras to break the deadlock. A cross from substitute Ze Kalanga floated onto the head of Akwa, who brilliantly finished to ensure a place at the finals in Germany.

It ended a nervous showing by the Angolans who, with Nigeria breathing down their necks, found Rwanda stubborn opposition. Indeed Angola had been restricted to long-range shooting in a disappointing first-half showing and got more desperate as the minutes ticked away.

Three quick substitutions by Luis Oliveira Goncalves saw the coach play his final cards midway through the second half but despite offering a serene picture of triumph at the end he would have been anxiously contemplating the possibility that Angola's chances were slipping away.

In contrast at the end, Angola's players celebrated furiously after a few seconds of disbelieving reflection on the bone-hard turf of the stadium in Kigali. Some of the 600-odd spectators who had travelled by charter planes from Luanda tried to join in the on-field celebrations but were hastily stopped by Rwandese security.

Before his goal, Akwa had the best chance for Angola in the 52nd minute with a spectacular overhead kick that was brilliantly turned over by Rwanda goalkeeper Nkunzingoma.

Soon after, Rwanda's Turkish-based striker, Honore Kabongo, rattled the Angolan woodwork with a shot that silenced the Angolan fans. But any chance that Rwanda had to deny Angola a place in the finals was undone by poor shooting, notably from Swedish-based Olivier Karekezi and the Congo-born Saidi Abedi Mukasi.