Palancas Negras (The Black Sable Antelopes) pose too much threat for Bafana Bafana to be ignored. South Africa coach Hugo Broos has said as much about the threat of a team he admitted he knew precious little about until the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) draw was conducted. Bafana open their campaign against Angola in Marrakesh on December 22.
Angola will be full of confidence arriving in Morocco with a squad that looks to blend much foreign-based experience with emerging talent. After a failed campaign to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, the Angolan FA appointed Frenchman Patrice Beaumelle as their new head coach in late September. He replacing long-serving Portuguese Pedro Goncalves, who had helped the team qualify for this Afcon during a six-year stint that included two appearances at Afcon finals (2019 and 2023).
The Angolans topped Group F on 14 points, with Sudan (eight points) runners-up and Niger (seven) in third. Favourites and four-time Afcon winners Ghana shocked with an appalling campaign, finishing last with three points. üá¶üᥠ‘Our best player is Gelson Dala, the joint-second top goalscorer of the last edition’ ‚öΩÔ∏èüí•The countdown to@CAF_Online#AFCONis on and journalist Eurico Costa introduces us to Angola’s Black Sable antelopesMeet the teams competing in 2025üèÜüéûÔ∏èhttps://t.co/M9FEfGo2xHpic.twitter.com/b0bWwpw0Gf Angola really showed their quality as they did not lose a match in six qualifiers, winning four and drawing two, scoring seven goals and conceding two.
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There are plenty of major players with experience in strong clubs in Europe in the 28-man squad named by Beaumelle on December 3. The forward has attackers of the quality of Gelson Dala (Al-Wakrah, Qatar), Zito Luvumbo (Cagliari in Italy’s Serie A), M’Bala Nzola (Pisa, Serie A), Mabululu (Al Ahli Tripoli, Libya) and Randy Nteka (Rayo Vallecano in Spain’s LaLiga) to choose from. Angola’s midfield also looks solid with Show (Kocaelispor, Turkey), captain Fredy (Turkish second tier side Bodrum), Maestro (Alanyaspor , Turkey) and Beni Mukendi (Vitória de Guimarães) available.
In defence, Beaumelle has tough campaigners in Clinton Mata (Lyon, France), David Carmo (on loan at Real Oviedo in LaLiga from Nottingham Forest), Nurio Fortuna (Volos, Greece), Gaspar (Lecce, Italy) and Jonathan Buatu (Gil Vicente, Spain). Veteran goalkeeper Hugo Marques, 39, now at Petro de Luanda, will be familiar to South African fans after starring for Cape Town City in 2021. He will compete for the No 1 jersey with Neblu (1° de Agosto) and Dominique (Swiss second tier side Étoile Carouge).
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