This nation ranks first in alphabetical order above the rest of the competition participants. This fact explains why our team profile coverage opens with Angola.
Angola’s nickname is “Palancas Negras” which means “Black Antelopes” in Portuguese. The 2006 World Cup participants, who operate under the control of the Federação Angolana de Futebol, are currently 83rd in the FIFA Rankings. Lito Vidigal presently serves as the country’s national team coach as defender Kali continues to assume the role of captain.
Angola's history - slowly progressing from minnows to giants
In Africa, the Palancas Negras are regarded as potentially dangerous opponents although much is left to do for them to side amongst the continent’s giants. Angola’s Nations Cup history is pretty recent.
The country did not enter in any of the competition’s first 12 editions between 1957 and 1980 and in Egypt 1086 as well. Angola participated in their first qualification campaigns for the 1982 and 1984 tournaments but had no success. Failure at the continental level was the Angolans’ routine until in the late 1990s.
They reached South Africa for the 1996 AFCON and made their debut in the tournament. Unfortunately for the country’s football fans, the Angolan national team crashed out in Round 1. Their first ever Nations Cup game happened at the Soccer City in Johannesburg against Egypt. A crowd of 6,000 spectators attended the match which ended 2-1 against the Palancas Negras.
Angola later came up against hosts and eventual champions South Africa. The latter broke the Black Antelopes’ heart with a narrow 1-0 result. In their final fixture, Angola gained a bit of respect by earning a point from their 3-3 against Cameroon.
Angola attempted to get revenge two years later but they once again fell out in the group phase. During that edition, Angola encountered a heavy 5-2 loss to Group C winners Cote d’Ivoire. This result signaled the end of the road for the Palancas Negras who had previously drawn 0-0 and 3-3 against South Africa and Namibia respectively.
Angolan football fans had to wait eight years to see the national team win a Cup of Nations battle at last. It occurred on Matchday 3 of the 2006 African Cup of Nations against Togo in Cairo. The victory didn’t mean much, though. A bad start to the campaign in Egypt saw Angola miss out on the quarterfinals through goal difference.
The Black Antelopes made history in Ghana when the qualified for the quarter-finals of CAN 2008. For the third time, Angola had to face South Africa in Round 1 of the tournament. Angola couldn’t beat Bafana Bafana as Van Heerden’s late goal canceled Manucho’s first-half opener. All the same, Angola ended with Last 8 tickets whereas the South Africans crashed out as Group D’s bottom t
eam.
Angola beat Senegal and drew goalless against Tunisia before collapsing under the power of eventual winners Egypt in the quarterfinals. In 2010, Angola staged the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in history.
However, even home advantage couldn’t inspire them to reach higher standards. Angola won Group A above the likes of Algeria, Mali and Malawi but Ghana’s young squad punished the Black Antelopes in the Last 8 for being so wasteful in attack.
Angola at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
The Palancas Negras will be making their 6th appearance in the tournament. They successfully went through the 2012 AFCON qualifiers despite kicking it with an alarming 3-0 loss in the hands of Uganda on September 4, 2010.
Angola shook off inconsistency with decent home and away victories over Guinea-Bissau. They also got revenge over Kenya and Uganda in Luanda. What kind of show are they preparing for the public in Gabon-Equatorial Guinea?
Angola will play Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Their squad for the tournament is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Carlos, Hugo, Wilson
Defenders: Amaro, Dani Massunguna, Kali, Marco Airosa, Mingo Bille, Zuela
Midfielders: Andre Makanga, Dede, Gilberto, Mabina, Miguel, Osorio, Xara
Forwards: Djalma, Flavio, Love Cabungula, Manucho Gonçalves, Mateus Galiano, Nando Rafael, Vunguidica
Read next team profile - Botswana.
