Angola national football team

The Angola national football team (Portuguese: Seleção nacional de futebol de Angola) represents Angola in men's international football and is controlled by the Angolan Football Federation. Nicknames Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes), the team is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Angola women's national football team.

Angola
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes)
AssociationFederação Angolana de Futebol (FAF)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCOSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coachPedro Gonçalves
CaptainDjalma Campos
Most capsFlávio (91)
Top scorerAkwá (39)
Home stadiumEstádio 11 de Novembro
FIFA codeANG
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 118 Decrease 1 (6 April 2023)[1]
Highest45 (July 2000)
Lowest147 (March 2017)
First international
 Congo 3–2 Angola
(Brazzaville, Congo; 8 February 1976)
Biggest win
Angola 7–1 Swaziland 
(Luanda, Angola; 23 April 2000)
Biggest defeat
 Portugal 6–0 Angola
(Lisbon, Portugal; 23 March 1989)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2006)
Best resultGroup stage (2006)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances8 (first in 1996)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2008, 2010)
African Nations Championship
Appearances3 (first in 2011)
Best resultRunners-up (2011)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances16 (first in 1998)
Best resultChampions (1999, 2001, 2004)
Medal record
CAF African Nations Championship
Silver medal – second place2011 SudanTeam
COSAFA Cup
Gold medal – first place1999 Southern Africa
Gold medal – first place2001 Southern Africa
Gold medal – first place2004 Southern Africa
Silver medal – second place2006 Southern Africa
Bronze medal – third place1998 Southern Africa
Websitefaf.co.ao

Angola reached its highest FIFA ranking of 45th in July 2000. Their greatest accomplishment was qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, their only World Cup to date.

History

Angola played their first game against Congo on 8 February 1976, losing 3–2. On 26 June 1977, Cuba became Angola's first non-African opponent when the two countries met in Angola, with Angola winning 1–0.[2] Angola entered World Cup qualifying for the first time in the 1986 qualifying competition. Angola defeated Senegal on penalties in the first round before narrowly losing to Algeria 3–2 on aggregate in the second round.

Angola qualified for their first Africa Cup of Nations in 1996. They were drawn in Group A with South Africa, Egypt and Cameroon. They lost their first two games to Egypt and South Africa, but managed a 3–3 draw against Cameroon. They finished bottom of the group and did not reach the second round. Angola then qualified for their second successive African Cup of Nations in 1998, but again failed to reach the second round, drawing 0–0 with South Africa and 3–3 with Namibia, and losing 5–2 to Ivory Coast.

After missing the last 3 tournaments, they qualified for the 2006 African Nations Cup. They recorded their first African Cup of Nations win against Togo, winning 3–2, two goals coming from Flávio and the other coming from Maurito. They also drew 0–0 against Congo DR and lost 3–1 against Cameroon. Angola's best performance then came in the 2008 African Nations Cup. They were drawn in Group D with Tunisia, South Africa and Senegal. They drew 1–1 and 0–0 with South Africa and Tunisia, then defeated Senegal 3–1, two goals coming from Manucho. In the quarter-finals they were beaten by eventual winners Egypt 2–1, but Manucho scored again, finishing with four goals in total.

Angola also won the COSAFA Cup in 1999, 2001 and 2004.

2006 FIFA World Cup

Angola qualified for the 2006 World Cup after only losing one game in the qualifiers ahead of favourites Nigeria.

When picking the squad, Gonçalves sought advice from Chelsea manager José Mourinho, whose wife was born in Angola. Angola's Golden Generation saw players like Akwá, João Ricardo, Paulo Figueiredo, Flávio Amado and Jamba selected to go to the World Cup. Angola played six warm-up games against South Korea, Mauritius, Lesotho, Argentina, Turkey and USA.

Angola played their first World Cup finals game against the Portuguese side, who won the match 1–0, the only goal coming from Pauleta.[3] There was a very friendly environment in and around the stadium during this match because of the links and friendship between the countries of Angola and Portugal. Angola drew 0–0 in their second game with Mexico, and still had a chance of qualifying for the second round had they beaten Iran in their final group game, but the match finished 1–1 after goals by Flávio and Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh. Angola were eliminated from the tournament only losing one game.[4][5]

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

2010 World Cup failure

After the 2006 World Cup, many of Angola's most experienced players such as Akwá and João Ricardo retired from the international game, but the expectation was still high for the team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The team had a bye through the first round of qualification and in the second round they were drawn in Group 3 along with Benin, Uganda and Niger. Despite winning their first two matches, Angola failed to proceed to the third round, missing out by two points.

2010 Africa Cup of Nations

As hosts of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Angola were seeded in Group A along with Mali, Algeria, and Malawi. Coached by Manuel José, in their first game they drew 4–4 with Mali, after letting a 4–0 lead slip in the last 11 minutes (including three goals in stoppage time). They recovered from this by beating Malawi 2–0 in the second match, and topped the group by drawing 0–0 with Algeria. They were knocked out in the quarter final after a 1–0 defeat by eventual finalists Ghana.

Kit history

Kit manufacturer
Kit providers Period
Belgium Olympic 1994–1998
Germany Adidas 1998–2002
Portugal Saillev 2002–2006
Germany Puma 2006–2012
Germany Adidas 2012–2018
Germany Puma 2018–2019
Portugal Lacatoni 2019–present

Results and fixtures
Main article: Angola national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022
1 June 2023 AFCON qualification Angola  2–1  Central African Republic Talatona, Angola
17:00 UTC+1
  • Nzola 72'
  • Dala 76'
 Report
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
5 June 2023 AFCON qualification Madagascar  1–1  Angola Antananarivo, Madagascar
19:00
Report
Stadium: Mahamasina Municipal Stadium
Referee: Thando Ndzandzeka (South Africa)
5 July 2022 COSAFA Cup Angola  3–1  Comoros Durban, South Africa
 Report
  • M'Changama 76'
 Stadium: King Zwelithini Stadium
7 July 2022 COSAFA Cup Angola  3–0  Seychelles Durban, South Africa
  • Julinho 14'
  • Megue 78' (pen.)
  • Vanilson 90'
 Report Stadium: King Zwelithini Stadium
10 July 2022 COSAFA Cup Botswana  1–0  Angola Durban, South Africa
 Report Stadium: King Zwelithini Stadium
17 November Friendly Angola  1–0  Botswana Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Jô Paciencia 42'
 Report1
Report2		 Stadium: Dobsonville Stadium
20 November Friendly South Africa  1–1  Angola Mbombela, South Africa
14:00
Report
Stadium: Mbombela Stadium

2023
23 March 2023 AFCON qualification Ghana  1–0  Angola Kumasi, Ghana
17:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium
Referee: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
27 March 2023 AFCON qualification Angola  1–1  Ghana Luanda, Angola
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt)
June 2023 AFCON qualification Central African Republic  v  Angola
September 2023 AFCON qualification Angola  v  Madagascar Talatona, Angola
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Ghana on 23 and 27 March 2023.[6]

Caps and goals as of 27 March 2023, after the second match against Ghana.[7]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Hugo Marques (1986-01-15) 15 January 1986 18 0 Angola Petro de Luanda
1GK Neblú (1993-12-07) 7 December 1993 11 0 Angola 1° de Agosto
1GK Kadú (1994-11-30) 30 November 1994 2 0 Portugal Alverca
2DF Jonathan Buatu (1993-09-27) 27 September 1993 30 1 France Valenciennes
2DF Eddie Afonso (1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 18 0 Angola Petro de Luanda
2DF Tó (1995-11-05) 5 November 1995 16 0 Angola Petro de Luanda
2DF Kialonda Gaspar (1997-09-27) 27 September 1997 15 0 Portugal Estrela Amadora
2DF Núrio Fortuna (1995-03-24) 24 March 1995 10 0 Belgium Gent
2DF Gigli Ndefe (1994-03-02) 2 March 1994 3 0 Czech Republic Slovan Liberec
2DF Lulas (1996-05-17) 17 May 1996 1 0 Angola Sagrada Esperança
2DF Pedro Agostinho (2003-07-21) 21 July 2003 0 0 Angola Petro de Luanda
3MF Fredy (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 38 2 Turkey Antalyaspor
3MF Show (1999-03-06) 6 March 1999 30 1 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
3MF Estrela (1995-09-22) 22 September 1995 11 0 Turkey Erzurumspor
3MF Megue (1996-12-02) 2 December 1996 6 2 Angola Petro de Luanda
3MF Bruno Paz (1998-04-23) 23 April 1998 2 0 Turkey Konyaspor
3MF Beni Mukendi (2002-05-21) 21 May 2002 1 0 Portugal Casa Pia
3MF Manuel Keliano (2003-01-06) 6 January 2003 0 0 Angola 1° de Agosto
4FW Ary Papel (1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 50 8 Libya Al Akhdar
4FW Gelson Dala (1996-07-13) 13 July 1996 34 14 Qatar Al-Wakrah
4FW Geraldo (1991-11-09) 9 November 1991 30 2 Turkey Ümraniyespor
4FW Mabululu (1989-09-10) 10 September 1989 16 6 Egypt Al Ittihad Alexandria
4FW Nelson da Luz (1998-02-04) 4 February 1998 11 0 Portugal Vitoria Guimarães
4FW Hélder Costa (1994-01-12) 12 January 1994 7 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
4FW Zito Luvumbo (2002-03-09) 9 March 2002 7 0 Italy Cagliari
4FW M'Bala Nzola (1996-08-18) 18 August 1996 6 2 Italy Spezia
4FW Lucas João (1993-09-04) 4 September 1993 3 1 England Reading
4FW Gilberto (2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 2 0 Angola Petro de Luanda

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Angola squad within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ladu Langanga (1996-10-15) 15 October 1996 0 0 Angola Sagrada Esperança v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
GK Augusto Mualucano (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 1 0 Angola Petro de Luanda v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
GK Edmilson Cambila (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 0 0 Angola AFA v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
GK Ricardo Batista (1986-11-19) 19 November 1986 0 0 Portugal Casa Pia v.  Madagascar, 5 June 2022
DF Paizo (1992-05-10) 10 May 1992 18 0 Angola 1° de Agosto v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Quinito (1998-03-13) 13 March 1998 7 0 Angola Interclube v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Antonio Hossi (2001-06-12) 12 June 2001 3 0 Angola 1° de Agosto v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Domingos Razão (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 3 0 Angola Interclube v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Loide Augusto (2000-02-26) 26 February 2000 2 1 Portugal Mafra v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Danilson (1999-07-06) 6 July 1999 2 0 Angola Interclube v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Jô (1996-07-07) 7 July 1996 2 1 Angola Sagrada Esperança v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Victoriano (1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 2 0 Angola Sagrada Esperança v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
DF Bito (2000-04-06) 6 April 2000 3 0 Angola 1° de Agosto v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
DF Vidinho (1998-02-25) 25 February 1998 0 0 Sudan Al-Hilal Omdurman v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Herenilson (1996-08-26) 26 August 1996 40 0 Angola 1° de Agosto v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
MF Kibeixa (1993-07-18) 18 July 1993 4 0 Angola Wiliete v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
MF Além (1997-12-06) 6 December 1997 2 0 Angola Petro de Luanda v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
MF Carlinhos (1995-03-19) 19 March 1995 12 0 Tanzania Young Africans v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Mário Balbúrdia (1997-08-19) 19 August 1997 11 0 Portugal Estrela Amadora v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Lépua (1999-12-23) 23 December 1999 8 1 Angola Sagrada Esperança v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Higino (1994-06-03) 3 June 1994 3 1 Angola Interclube v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Vanilson (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 3 1 Angola 1° de Agosto v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Maya (2004-08-15) 15 August 2004 1 0 Angola Petro de Luanda v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Arilson (1992-05-13) 13 May 1992 1 0 Angola Unknown v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Edmilson Carlos 0 0 Angola Unknown v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF Karanga (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 0 0 Angola Sagrada Esperança v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
MF João Batxi (1998-05-01) 1 May 1998 2 0 Russia Krasnodar v.  Madagascar, 5 June 2022
FW Vá (1998-04-24) 24 April 1998 32 2 Cyprus Apollon Limassol v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
FW Zine (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 7 4 Greece AEK Athens v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
FW Jaredi Lopes Texeira (1998-11-11) 11 November 1998 3 0 Angola Petro de Luanda v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
FW Jermain Nischalke (2003-03-26) 26 March 2003 0 0 Germany Nürnberg v.  South Africa, 20 November 2022
FW Yano (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 24 4 Angola Petro de Luanda v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
FW Julinho (1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 3 1 Angola Interclube v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
FW Dilson (1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 2 0 Angola Unknown v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
FW Anderson Cruz (1996-04-09) 9 April 1996 1 0 Angola Petro de Luanda v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
FW Depú (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000 1 0 Portugal Gil Vicente v.  Botswana, 10 July 2022
FW Capita (2002-01-10) 10 January 2002 2 0 Portugal Estrela Amadora v.  Madagascar, 5 June 2022

DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player has retired from international football.
SUS Suspended from the national team.

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup

Africa Cup of Nations

Records
As of 20 November 2022[8]
Players in bold are still active with Angola.

Most capped players
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1. Flávio 91 34 2000–2012
2. Gilberto 89 10 1999–2015
3. Love Cabungula 79 11 2001–2016
4. Akwá 78 39 1995–2006
5. Yamba Asha 77 1 2000–2009
6. Kali 73 0 2003–2011
7. André Macanga 70 2 1999–2012
8. Mateus 70 14 2006–2021
9. Job 64 7 2007–2018
10. António João Neto 59 1 1992–2001

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1. Akwá 39 78 0.5 1995–2006
2. Flávio 34 91 0.37 2000–2012
3. Manucho 22 53 0.42 2006–2017
4. Paulão 19 52 0.37 1993–2001
5. Jesús 18 48 0.38 1979–1990
6 Gelson Dala 14 32 0.44 2015–present
Mateus 14 70 0.2 2006–2021
8. Love Cabungula 11 79 0.14 2001–2016
9. Gilberto 10 89 0.11 1999–2015
10. Quinzinho 9 40 0.23 1994–2001
Ndunguidi 9 44 0.2 1978–1991

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
See also: Angola at the FIFA World Cup

As of 2022, Angola has qualified once for a FIFA World Cup. Its first participation in the World Cup qualifiers was in 1986, where they won in the first round, beating Senegal 4−3 on penalty kicks. They later lost in the second round of the 1986 World Cup qualifiers to Algeria. Algeria went to the third round and qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Angola's first participation in the World Cup was in the 2006 World Cup, in Germany.

Year Final Tournament Qualification
Round Pld W D L F A Pos. Pld W D L F A
Uruguay 1930 to West Germany 1974Part of PortugalPart of Portugal
Argentina 1978Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member
Spain 1982did not enterDeclined participation
Mexico 1986did not qualifySecond round411234
Italy 1990Second round – 3rd823388
United States 1994First round – 3rd512234
France 1998Final round – 2nd8440125
South KoreaJapan 2002Final round – 2nd105411910
Germany 2006Group stage302112Second round – 1st[A]12732159
South Africa 2010did not qualifySecond round – 2nd[B]6312118
Brazil 2014Second round – 3rd614175
Russia 2018Second round200214
Qatar 2022Second round – 4th832399
CanadaMexicoUnited States 2026to be determinedto be determined
Total1/22302112— !692724188866

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 10 September 2019 after the match against Gambia.

Notes
  1. ^
    A: The African qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup doubled as qualifiers for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.
  2. ^
    B: The African qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup doubled as qualifiers for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Africa Cup of Nations
Year Final Tournament Qualification
Round Pld W D L F A Pos. Pld W D L F A
Sudan 1957 to Egypt 1974Part of PortugalPart of Portugal
Ethiopia 1976 to Nigeria 1980Not affiliated to CAFNot affiliated to CAF
Libya 1982did not qualifyPreliminary round202011
Ivory Coast 1984First round421174
Egypt 1986did not enterdid not enter
Morocco 1988did not qualifyFirst round420224
Algeria 1990First round411257
Senegal 19924th603336
Tunisia 1994did not enterdid not enter
South Africa 1996Group stage3012461st10622178
Burkina Faso 1998Group stage3021582nd420244
GhanaNigeria 2000did not qualify4th82241012
Mali 20023rd8422128
Tunisia 20042nd412174
Egypt 2006Group stage311145Second round – 1st[C]12732159
Ghana 2008Quarter-finals4121541st6411165
Angola 2010Quarter-finals412165Second round – 2nd[D]6312118
GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012Group stage3111451st640275
South Africa 2013Group stage301214Second round210133
Equatorial Guinea 2015did not qualify3rd613255
Gabon 20173rd612378
Egypt 2019Group stage3021121st640296
Cameroon 2021did not qualify4th611447
Ivory Coast 2023to be determinedto be determined
Guinea 2025
Totals8/33264121039— !100462638145114

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 29 March 2021 after the match against Gabon.

Notes
  1. ^
    C: The African qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup doubled as qualifiers for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.
  2. ^
    D: The African qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup doubled as qualifiers for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

COSAFA Cup
Main article: COSAFA Cup
Year COSAFA Cup record
ResultMWDLGFGA
1997did not enter
1998Third place514064
1999Winners540162
2000Semi-final201112
2001Winners422031
2002Quarter-final100112
2003First round100101
2004Winners422042
2005Semi-final100112
2006Runners-up4301105
2007Quarter-final211020
South Africa 2008See Angola national under-20 football team.
Zimbabwe 2009Quarter-final100102
Zambia 2013Plate final311144
South Africa 2015did not enter
Namibia 2016Group stage300307
South Africa 2017Group stage312010
South Africa 2018Group stage311122
South Africa 2019Withdrew
South Africa 2020Cancelled
South Africa 2021did not enter
South Africa 2022Group stage320162
Totals16/21421614124136

Honours
Angola lining-up before a friendly match in 2014

See also

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. "Angola - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. Brodkin, Jon (12 June 2006). "Figo sparkles as Ronaldo's tricks lead to the bench". Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  4. "Mexico 0–0 Angola". BBC. 16 June 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  5. "Iran 1–1 Angola". BBC. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  6. "Pedro Gonçalves convoca 26 jogadores para duplo confronto da seleção angolana". Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  7. "Angola vs. Ghana - 27 marzo 2023 - Soccerway". Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  8. Roberto Mamrud. "Angola – Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
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