Angola midfielder Paulo Figueiredo admits he is living the World Cup dream with the tournament debutants still in the race for a place in the knockout stages.

Figueiredo, a 33-year-old who plays in the Portuguese second division with Varzim, admitted he never thought he would get the chance to play in the tournament and is now determined to make the adventure last as long as possible.

With Portugal having already qualified from Group D and Iran already eliminated the second berth will be filled by either Mexico or Angola.

Mexico, with four points, have the edge over Angola who earned their first and, so far, only point by drawing 0-0 with the Latin Americans in Hanover.

However, Angola could still qualify if they beat Iran and Portugal defeat the Mexicans although the Black Antelopes have as yet scored no goals to Mexico's three in the tournament so far - a factor that also needs to be addressed if the African side are to progress.

Figueiredo said: "This was a very important point for us (against Mexico).

"It's Angola's first-ever World Cup point and it's a moment for our country to celebrate.

"We will have to try our hardest but every player will give everything he has.

"Now we need to win if we are to create the surprise and we have to play a different game so we can score the goals we need."

Angola, who lost 1-0 to Portugal in their opener, had to defend for most of the match against the Mexicans, especially after the sending of midfielder Andre for his second bookable offence, a deliberate handball.

Figueiredo admits he never thought he would get the chance to play at World Cup level.

"This is very good for me, it's my first World Cup - I never thought I would get to be here but we are here for a serious reason," said Figueiredo.

"We showed (against Mexico) the team can be very good but now we really want to win a game even though everything depends also on the Portugal-Mexico match.

"The draw was like a victory for the whole country - we must remember this is our first point - and we have showed we can play a good game against very hard teams like Portugal and Mexico who have a very strong World Cup pedigree."