Luanda – The coach of the senior males National Football Team, Pedro Gonçalves, said Monday that he considers positive the squd´s two days of training in the southern region of Algarve, Portugal, where they will carry out some control games to prepare for the African Nations Championship (CHAN´2023).
The Angolan football squad have been in Portugal since Sunday taking into account their participation in CHAN2023 (African nations championship for home-based players) to be held in Algeria from 13 January to 04 February this year.
On Wednesday at 11:00 am, they will have the first friendly match facing Sporting Clube Olhanense of Portugal, and Thursday at 15h00 pm they’ll face Portugal´s Benfica B. It is also scheduled other matches with the Latvian national team on 10 January and on 11 of the same month the national team will face Swiss Servette Football Club.
The coach said that in two different games, he will give playing time to all players aiming to create a group with immediate response capacity to be shown in the African Nations competition.
In the African race which is only for the players that play in the national competitions, Angola are in group D with Mali national team, with whom they shall play on the 16th, as well as with Mauritania team scheduled to play against on the 20th.
This is the National Team´s third participation in the CHAN, after the Sudan edition in 2011, where they placed in second position, losing in the final, 3-0, against Tunisia.
In the 2018 edition in Morocco, the National Team also known as Palancas Negras (Sable Antelopes) were eliminated in the quarter-finals, by Nigeria, 2-1.
Neblu, Hugo Marques, Langanga (goalkeeper), Tó Carneiro, Danilson, Razão, Eddie Afonso, Kinito, Kibeixa, Paizo (defenders), Além, Higino, Keliano, Herenilson, Megue, Vitoriano (midfielders), Bito, Gilberto, Caneta, Jaredi, Julinho, Depú and Lepua (forwards), as well as the striker Gilberto are the summoned players.
Pedro Gonçalves also announced that there are seven players who will be registered as reserves, namely Miguel (goalkeeper), Hossi, Lulas, Pedro Francisco (defenders), Benvindo Afonso (midfielder), Jeffer and Jó Paciência (forwards).
