Luanda – Angola face Namibia on Friday in the first round (Group C) of the Cosafa Cup football tournament to be played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth (South Africa).
Led by coach Pedro Gonçalves, the Angolan team that travelled to the competition on Monday will return to action on July 1 against the Seychelles at 11am for the 2nd round.
Angola finishes the group stage on the third day against Lesotho.
In addition to hosts South Africa, the 23rd edition of the Cosafa Cup includes Mozambique, Eswatini and Botswana (Group A) and Zambia, Comoros, Zimbabwe and Kenya (Group B).
The three winners of each group and the runner-up qualify for the semi-finals.
South Africa and Zambia have won four titles each in this African competition, while Angola has three (1999, 2001 and 2004) and Namibia just one (2015).
At 2023 edition in South Africa, Angola finished second in the group stage with four points.
Zambia is the title holder.
Line-up:
Goalkeepers: Landu Langanga (Sagrada Esperança), Edmilson Cambila (Estrela da Amadora, Portugal) and Francisco Mangala "Gelson" (Interclube).
Defenders -Mindinho (Interclube), Hossi (1.º de Agosto), Khaly (Dila, Georgia), Joel Kiala (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Marsoni Sambu (Molembeek, Belgium), Pedro Bondo (Sporting, Portugal) and Sandro Cruz (GD Chaves, Portugal).
Midfielders: Maestro (Adana Demispor, Turkey), Domingos Andrade (Felgueiras, Portugal), Keliano (Estrela Amadora, Portugal), Maya (Petro de Luanda) and Pedro Agostinho (Desportivo da Lunda Sul).
Forwards: Berna (Boavista, Portugal), Picas (Feirense, Portugal), Ben Arfa (Kabuscorp do Palanca), Pedro Muteba (1860 München, Germany), Gibelé (Petro de Luanda), Miro and Depú (Gil Vicente, Portugal) are also on the list.
Match day 1 fixtures:
(Group A) - Eswatini-Botswana, 2 p.m., and South Africa-Mozambique, 5 p.m.
Thursday (27):
(Group B) - Comoros-Zimbabwe, 2pm, and Zambia-Kenya, 5pm.
Friday (28):
(Group C) - Lesotho-Seychelles, 2pm
IN/MC/DAN/AMP
