Luanda – Angola will play the first game in the African Football Championship (CHAN) for home-based players this Monday afternoon, a game set to start at 5 O´Clock, with the Mali squad, while the memorable four-goal draw between both teams in the 2010 edition of the African Nations Cup (CAN) is still fresh in the minds of fans.
Monday’s encounter, in the ambit of the CHAN being held in Algeria, brings back memory of the “great clash” the two teams had on 11 January 2010, in Luanda’s 11 de Novembro Stadium (CAN2010), which ended in a 4-4 draw after the Angolan squad were winning 3-0. Although they are different competitions, the comparison is inevitable.
However, at this stage, the statistics show that Mali are favourites with two wins from their last three games, with a draw in-between, that is the 0-4 defeat on 11 February 2009, the memorable 4-4 on 10 January 2010 and 0-1 on 2 July 2019.
In the FIFA Ranking that was updated in December 2022, Angola come in the 117th position with 1158.8 points, while Mali are 45th with 1449.1 points.
With these figures, a resilient attitude is expected from the Angolan team in the Orãn Olympic Stadíun, in a match of group D that also includes Mauritania. According to the rules, the winner of the group will advance to the quarter-finals.
On 20 January, Angola will face Mauritania, an encounter which is considered to be less complicated.
The Mauritanians are at position 103 in the International Ranking, with 1197.6 points. Both teams recorded three matches, one win each and one draw. For Angola 4-1, on 12 October 2018, for Mauritania 1-0, on 16 October 2018 in the African Cup and 0-0 on 29 June 2019 in the Cup of Nations.
This is the fourth time that Angola participates in this competition, after the 2011 edition in Sudan, in which the national team occupied the second position, losing in the final to Tunisia, 0-3.
In the 2016 edition in Rwanda, Angola were eliminated in the group stage, as in the 2018 edition in Kingdom of Morocco, having finished in the quarter-finals, losing 1-2 to Nigeria.
Mali were finalists in 2016 in Rwanda and the 2021 edition in Cameroon, while Mauritania had a modest showing at the 2018 edition in Morocco.
For this 7th edition of CHAN, the summoned players are Neblu, Hugo Marques and Langanga (goalkeepers), Tó Carneiro, Danilson, Razão, Eddie Afonso, Kinito, Kibeixa, Paizo (defenders), as well as Além, Higino, Keliano, Herenilson, Megue and Vitoriano (midfielders), Bito, Gilberto, Caneta, Jaredi, Julinho, Depú and Lepua (forward section).
