Luanda - The Angolan national football team are to travel Tuesday to the city of Abidjan, where on Friday they will face Nigeria at 6pm, at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, for the quarter-final match of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON`2023), a competition taking place in Côte d`Ivoire.
According to the Angolan Football Federation (FAF)’s programme, the national team will depart in the morning from Bouaké, where they were based since the group stage and in the round of 16 match against Namibia (3-0).
On Monday, coach Pedro Gonçalves organised another closed-door training session on the natural grass pitch of the Bouaké Technical Institute, focused on improving tactical actions.
The attacking midfielder Fredy (captain) and goalkeeper Dominique, due to medical reasons were absent in the training session, as well as striker Jeremi Belas, who was excused for two days to attend the birth of his son.
For Friday's match with Nigeria, which could result in an unprecedented qualification for the semi-finals, the Sable Antelopes (Angola) can count on a greater number of Angolan supporters due to the organisation of a tour in the country.
Angola remains undefeated in this 34th edition, having drawn in the first round of group D with Algeria (1-1), a contender for the title, and then beaten Mauritania (3-2), Burkina Faso (2-0) and Namibia (3-0).
MC/MRA/jmc
