Angola In High Spirits

Angola will clash with Ghana on Wednesday, attempting to prove their strength and readiness to host the 2010 African Nations Cup. Meanwhile, the West African side are going into the game with the aim of justifying their status as the first African country to qualify for next year’s World Cup.

The goal of the match is to test one of the 2010 African Cup of Nations pitches, but both sides will be going for a confidence-boosting win. The Palancas Negras have injected five foreign-based players into their squad - Flavio Amado, Pedro Garcia, Gilberto and Dede Kaly and Girabola.

It is going to be the Angola's second friendly match at home in quick succession after drawing with Congo 1-1 in Luanda on Saturday. The Black Antelopes have played six major international friendly matches away this year, all in Portugal.

They secured draws against Ghana, Senegal and Cape Verde, before beating Togo and Malta 2-0 and 2-1 respectively. They were later held to a scoreless draw by Cameroon.

News about Angolan top striker Manucho’s involvement in the upcoming friendly is fuzzy as he has been suspended for being late to the training camp prior to the friendly against Congo. If he is left out again, the fans are likely to roar at the technical team.

The Valladolid striker had apologised to coach Manuel and the country, and former Angola player Juliao Dias is pressurising the national team coach to explain the absence of the player from camp.

Can the Nations Cup hosts break Ghana without one of their livewires? Time will tell.

Ghana To Beat Angola

Ghana are going to be a tough side for Angola to beat this Wednesday - there are no two ways about that. The West Africans are aiming to improve their world ranking of 38th.

The four-time African champions may use the game to test their young and energetic stars, especially those who shone in the World Cup winning Under-20 squad. Coach Milovan Rajevac is parading an 18-man unit to play Manuel José's Angolan side.

The Ghana side will be a good team to watch as many of the new players likely to be in the starting line-up will fight tooth and nail to impress. They all want to secure squad berths for next year's two major competitions.

With such sterling performances during the 2010 World/African Cup qualifiers behind them, the Black Stars do not want to dent their record in Angola.

The players see it as an opportunity to leave lasting fear in the oil rich country’s backyard before they return again January 2010 for the real showdown.

FORM GUIDE

Ghana

1 October: Argentina 2-0 Ghana (Friendly)

9 September: Japan 4:3 Ghana (Friendly)

12 August: Ghana 4:1 Zambia (Friendly)

31 May: Ghana 2-1 Uganda (Friendly)

11 February: Egypt 2-2 Ghana (Friendly)

Angola

14 November: Angola 1:1 Congo (Friendly)

14 October: Angola 0:0 Cameroon (Friendly)

10 October: Angola 2:1 Malta (Friendly)

9 September: Angola 1:1 Cape Verde (Friendly)

5 September: Angola 1:1 Senegal (Friendly)

TEAM NEWS

Angola

At least 25 players are in camp and have been undergoing fitness drills at the Coqueiros Stadium in Luanda.

Lama, Fabio, Dias Caíres, Yamba Asha and Stelvio did not attend Monday morning’s training session due to injury.

Team doctor Pedro Miguel has said that goal keeper Lama underwent an MRI scan, while Stelvio had felt intestinal problem during Sunday night.

Asha is likely to sit out.

Squad: Carlos, Kaly, Dede, Hernani, Gilberto, Makanga, Domenick, Stélvio, Ze Kalanga, Djalma, Mateus, Flavio, Mantorras, Fabio, Lama, Asha, Job, Mabini, Loco, Xara, Davide, Joel, Debele, Enoch, Johnson, Wilson.

Ghana

Team captain Stephen Appiah and youngster Samuel Inkoom are out of Wednesday’s international match. They have the consent of coach Rajevac to attend to club commitments.

Zamalek forward Rahim Ayew and Opoku Agyemang of Al-Wadha of Qatar have received call ups into the team.

The latest addition to the Black Stars’ squad is Aziz Ansah of Heartland.

Probable Line-up: Kingson; Paintsil, Ansah, Addo, Quartey Annan, Asamoah, Essien, Muntari; Amoah, Gyan

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Angola

Flavio scored Angola’s first goal at World Cup 2006. He found the net again in less than three minutes against Congo last Saturday. He is the player to watch if Ghana want to return home with smiles on their faces.

Ghana

Kwadwo Asamoah is steadily winning the hearts of many football fans in Ghana. The youngster has good sense of judgement and caresses the ball to the admiration of all. His few outings with the Black Stars have made him a suitable substitute for captain Stephen Appiah.

PREDICTION

Total home support is crucial for Angola as they undergo this litmus test that could derail or strengthen the fans' confidence. Ghana are a strong side and the hosts must not under-estimate the prowess of the young players that might receive a place in the starting line-up.

Angola 1-2 Ghana

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