Luanda – Angola have set the quarter-finals as the goal to achieve in the 7th edition of the African Football Championship (CHAN), a competition reserved for players of domestic competitions, to be held from January 13 to February 4, in Algeria.
If compared to Angola’s history in the competition, the goal set this time by the national team is very modest, taking into account that they were runner-up in 2011 after 3-0 defeat to Tunisia in the final.
In their second appearance, in Rwanda in 2016, Angola was eliminated in the group stage after conceding defeats to Democratic Republic of Congo 2-4, and Cameroon (0-1), with just a win against Ethiopia 2-1.
In the competition, held in 2018, in the Kingdom of Morocco, Angola was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Nigeria, with a 1-2 defeat.
In their fourth appearance in the tournament, the national team will only play on the 16th, against Mali, in a group D match, in the city of Oran, and then against Mauritania.
The CHAN`2023 will have the participation of eighteen national teams. Besides Angola, Algeria (host country), Morocco, Libya, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Madagascar and Mozambique.
Among the competing countries, Morocco and the DRC, with two titles each, are the leaders of the competition that started in 2009.
Morocco won in 2018 and 2020, while the DRC (2009 and 2016). They are followed with one trophy each by Tunisia (2011) and Libya (2014).
The top two teams from groups A, B and C, made up of four teams each qualify for the quarterfinals. Series D (Angola, Mali and Mauritania) and E (Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville), with three teams, will each qualify one team for the next round, making a total of eight.
Fixtures:
(Friday Group A): Algeria – Libya
(Saturday/Group A): Ethiopia – Mozambique
(Saturday/Group B): DRC-Uganda
(Saturday/Group B): Cote d’Ivoire-Senegal
(Sunday/Group C: Morocco-Sudan
(Sunday/Group C: Madagascar-Ghana
(Monday/Group D): Mali-Angola
(Monday /Group E: Cameroon-Congo Brazzaville
Source: Angola Press News Agency
