Angola Profile – CAF TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

Angola returns to the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations after missing the 2023 edition in Algeria. The country, which made its debut in the competition in 1997 will be making its fifth appearance in the tournament. Their best performance came in the 2019 edition in Tanzania, where they finished in third place.

How Angola Qualified

Angola secured its qualification by reaching the final of the COSAFA qualifiers held in Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2024. After an impressive run, the country lost 2-1 to Zambia in the final but secured one of the three available along with Zambia and South Africa.

Competition History

Angola is preparing for its fifth appearance in the competition Their first participation was in 1997, where they were eliminated in the group stage. They failed to do better in their subsequent participations in 1999 and 2017. It wasn’t until the 2019 edition in Tanzania that Angola managed to progress past the group stage for the first time, finishing in third place.

Players to Watch

• Eliseu Sebastião Francisco
  With two goals, Eliseu finished as Angola's top scorer in the COSAFA qualifiers. The 16-year-old midfielder is creative and also clinical in front of goal.

• Gelson Joaquim Dala
  Angola’s goalkeeper, Gelson shone brightly during the COSAFA qualifiers in Johannesburg, earning the title of best goalkeeper of the competition. The 15-year-old has all the required qualities for his position: great positioning, reflexes, and strong distribution.

Coach and Tactical Approach

Omingos Cristóvão da Silva (Mito da Silva)
Mito da Silva replaced Pedro Gonçalves, the current head coach of the senior Angola team, as the head coach of the U-17 team. In qualifying Angola for this continental event, he successfully completed one of his first major missions with the team.

True to the tradition of Angola's youth teams, Mito da Silva prefers to see his team develop plays and lead structured attacks. However, he is also brilliant at organizing the defense and exploiting counter-attacks when the team is under pressure.

Expectations and Group Analysis

Angola finds itself in Group D, alongside two former winners of the tournament: Mali (2015, 2017) and Côte d'Ivoire (2013), as well as the Central African Republic. Securing a spot in the knockout stages will not be easy for this team, but they are known for their resilience.

• Mali
  In their two previous encounters in the competition, Angola has lost to Mali. They were defeated 2-1 in the 1999 group stage and suffered a heavy 6-1 loss in 2017 in Gabon at the same stage of the competition.

• Central African Republic
  Despite being newcomers to the competition, Central African Republic bring a lot of ambition. In the recent UNIFFAC tournament, the Central African U-17 team showed great character, which will be helpful against any opponent in the competition.

• Côte d'Ivoire
  The Ivorian U-17 team is considered the second strongest team in Group D, behind Mali. To progress to the knockout stages, Angola will need at least one favourable result against either of these two giants.