Angola national football team

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Angola
Image:Angola FA.gif
Nickname(s) Palancas Negras
(The Black Antelopes)
Association Federação Angolana
de Futebol
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Luís Oliveira Gonçalves
Captain Akwá
Most caps Akwá (80)
Top scorer Akwá (36)
Home stadium Estádio da Cidadela
FIFA code ANG
FIFA ranking 55
Highest FIFA ranking 45 (July 2000)
Lowest FIFA ranking 124 (March 1994)
Elo ranking 61
Highest Elo ranking 50 (Sept-Oct 2006)
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
First kit
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Second kit
First international
Flag of Angola Angola 1 - 0 Cuba Flag of Cuba
(Angola; 1 June 1977)
Biggest win
Flag of Angola Angola 7 - 1 Swaziland Flag of Swaziland
(Luanda, Angola; 23 April 2000)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Portugal Portugal 6 - 0 Angola Flag of Angola
(Lisbon, Portugal; 23 March 1989)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 2006)
Best result Round 1, 2006
Africa Nations Cup
Appearances 4 (First in 1996)
Best result Quarterfinals, 2008

The Angola national football team, nicknamed Palancas Negras, ("The Black Antelopes") is the national team of Angola and is controlled by the Federação Angolana de Futebol. On October 8, 2005, Angola qualified for the World Cup for the first time.

Luís Oliveira Gonçalves took over as coach of the team in 2003, having previously managed the Under-20 team, and is the most successful in Angolan history, having lead the team to first place in qualification for the World Cup finals, ahead of Nigeria.

Contents

[edit] Key players

[edit] Angola Football Achievements

COSAFA Cup :
  • 3 Times Champion (1999, 2001, 2004)
Central African Games :
  • 1 Time Runners-Up

[edit] History

Angola came to international prominence in the 1990s with appearances in two African Nations Cup tournaments.

They finished runners-up behind Cameroon in the 1998 and 2002 World Cup qualifying series, losing only one game in the process. They finally qualified for their first World Cup in 2006, and performed credibly to finish third in their group behind Portugal and Mexico.

[edit] World Cup record

[edit] African Nations Cup record

In 2010 the African Nations Cup will be held in Angola.

[edit] 2006 World Cup Information

Fans of the Angolan national football team in Cologne, Germany.
Fans of the Angolan national football team in Cologne, Germany.

When picking the squad, Gonçalves sought advice from Chelsea manager José Mourinho, whose wife was born in Angola. They lost their opening game in the World Cup to a theoretically much stronger Portuguese side. The final score was 1-0, which was a surprise for most people as Portugal dominated throughout the match, but Angola managed to hold on. Pauleta scored the only goal of the game.

With memorable saves from their keeper João Ricardo, Angola played Mexico to a 0-0 draw in Hannover on the 16th of June, earning their first World Cup point.

For their third match, the team played 1-1 against Iran. They took the lead in the last match when Flávio scored after an hour. This gave them a theoretical chance to qualify for the next round, but Iran equalized after 15 minutes, ending Angola's hopes.

[edit] Current Squad

The following players were called for the friendly match against Niger on June 8, 2008.

[edit] Goalkeepers

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Lama February 1, 1981 Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
12 GK Mário June 1, 1985 1 0 Flag of Angola InterClube
2 DF Jamuana 2 0 Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
3 Fernando Costa 1 0
4 DF Manuel Machado December 24, 1985 2 0 Flag of Portugal Anadia F.C.
5 DF Kali October 11, 1978 31 0 Flag of Switzerland FC Sion
6 DF Yamba Asha July 31, 1978 59 1 Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
13 DF Locó December 25, 1984 Flag of Angola Primeiro Agosto
15 DF Rui Marques September 3, 1977 7 0 Flag of England Leeds United
7 MF Zé Kalanga October 12, 1983 Flag of Portugal Boavista
8 MF André Macanga May 14, 1978 Flag of Kuwait Al-Kuwait
10 MF Maurito June 24, 1981 21 4 Flag of Kuwait Al-Kuwait
11 MF Gilberto September 21, 1982 Flag of Egypt Al-Ahly
14 MF Mendonça October 9, 1982 Flag of Portugal Estrela Amadora
17 MF Job 2 1 Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
9 FW Mantorras March 18, 1982 Flag of Portugal Benfica
16 FW Flávio December 30, 1979 Flag of Egypt Al-Ahly
18 FW Love March 14, 1979 Flag of Angola Primeiro Agosto


[edit] Recent Call Ups

The following players have been called up for the team in 2008.

Name DOB Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up
Goalkeepers
Nuno February 27, 1980 Flag of Angola AS Aviacao  ? (?) v Benin, June 1, 2008
Defenders
Marco Airosa August 6, 1984 Flag of Portugal CD Fátima 6 (0) v Egypt, February 4, 2008
Midfielders
Édson February 3, 1980 Flag of Portugal Pacos Ferreira  ? (?) v Egypt, February 4, 2008
Dedé July 4, 1981 Flag of Portugal Pacos Ferreira 3 (1) v Senegal, January 27, 2008
Figueiredo November 28, 1972 Flag of Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ  ? (?) v South Africa, January 23, 2008
Strikers
Diangi Matusiwa December 21, 1985 Flag of the Netherlands FC Omniworld 0 (0) v Benin, June 1, 2008
Manucho Goncalves March 7, 1983 Flag of Greece Panathinaikos 14 (6) v Egypt, February 4, 2008
Mateus June 19, 1984 Flag of Portugal Boavista  ? (?) v Egypt, February 4, 2008


No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
DF Amaro 12 November 1986 0 0 Flag of Angola Sport Luanda e Benfica
DF Lau 23 January 1986 0 0 Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
DF Eduardo 10 October 1986 0 0 Flag of Angola InterClube
MF Gildo 19 February 1983 0 0 Flag of Angola InterClube
MF Tunga 25 June 1985 Flag of Angola Primeiro Agosto
FW Santana 15 June 1983 Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
FW Minguito 15 May 1983 Flag of Angola InterClube
3 DF Jamba 10 July 1977 38 0 Flag of Angola AS Aviacao
21 DF Luis Delgado 1 November 1979 20 0 Flag of France FC Metz
MF Mabina Flag of Angola Petro Atletico
MF Nelo 0 0 Flag of Angola Sport Lubango e Benfica
FW Pedro Henriques Flag of Angola InterClube


[edit] External links