Luanda - Angola's national football team face Lesotho on Saturday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, the opponents' borrowed home, for the first leg of the final qualifying round for CHAN 2025.
In search of their fifth appearance in the competition, which will be held in three countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the second leg is scheduled for December 28 in Luanda.
This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, with Angola recording six wins, one defeat and one draw from seven matches.
In FIFA friendlies, Angola beat Lesotho 3-1 on March 9, 1990, 1-0 on July 3, 1999, 2-0 on June 6, 2001, 3-1 on April 29, 2006 and 2-0 on July 28, 2007.
Angola are 85th in the FIFA and 20th in the CAF with 1,296.48 points, while Lesotho are 149th and 45th with 1,046.76 points.
The national team's best performance at the CHAN was in 2011 in Sudan, when they won the silver medal (2nd place) after losing 3-0 to Tunisia in the final. They reached the group stage in Rwanda in 2016 and the quarterfinals in Morocco in 2018.
The competition is reserved for players who play in domestic competitions.
Angolan coach Pedro Gonçalves has selected the following players: Neblú, Rui Miguel and Nsesane (goalkeepers), Alexandre Abel, Hossi, Eddie Afonso, Pedro Bondo, Vidinho, Lito, Caíca and Mabelé (defenders), Além, Soba, António Malamba, Calebi, Manico, Megue and Dos Santos (midfielders), Dabanda, Fernandinho, Jaredi, Julinho, Vanilson, Jó and Kaporal (forwards). IN/WR/TED/AMP
