The AFCON Côte d'Ivoire 2023 continues to captivate football fans, with Angola and Namibia preparing for a Round of 16 showdown at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on Saturday, January 27. The encounter promises excitement, as both teams aim to advance further in the tournament.
Angola's impressive performance in Group D, where they secured seven points by defeating Mauritania and Burkina Faso and drawing with Algeria, positions them as formidable contenders. Namibia, recording their first-ever win in AFCON history, clinched a crucial victory that propelled them to the knockout phase.
The Stade de la Paix holds familiarity for Angola, having hosted two of their group-stage matches. Deon Hotto, the recipient of two TotalEnergies Man of the Match awards, stands out as a key player for Namibia. Gelson Dala, featured in CAF's team of the group stage, has been a prolific scorer for Angola, netting two goals.
Both head coaches expressed excitement about their teams' qualification and anticipate a historic encounter in the Round of 16.
Angola's head coach, Pedro Gonçalves, highlighted the significance of the upcoming match, stating, “It has been a historic moment for us, and we have a bigger game tomorrow, perhaps the biggest game in the last 14 years of the Angolan national team.” He emphasized the need for focus, balance, and consideration in their gameplay against Namibia.
Namibia's head coach, Collin Benjamin, praised his team's technical players and expressed determination to be among the best 16 teams in Africa. He emphasized the importance of a stable defence and acknowledged the challenges they face, noting, “Our boys are happy to be here, and there is more fun. It's the determination, it's ambition, it's mentality, these boys want to succeed.”
Angola vs Namibia
- This is only the second meeting between Angola and Namibia at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations; the other was a 3-3 draw in the 1998 group stages, a game in which Namibia were 2-0 and 3-1 ahead.
- Angola and Namibia haven't met in any competition since a November 2015 friendly at the Estádio 11 de Novembro, won 1-0 by Angola.
- This is only Angola's third ever match at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in the knockout stages – their other two were quarter-final defeats in 2008 (1-2 vs Egypt) and 2010 (0-1 vs Ghana).
- Namibia is featuring in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations knockout stages for the first time. They've only won one of their 12 group stage matches at AFCON (D3 L8), with that coming on MD1 this year against Tunisia.
- Angola have won two matches at the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, the first time they've ever won two games at one edition of AFCON and the first time they've won back-to-back games in the tournament. The six goals they netted in this year's group stages were as many as they scored across the 2012, 2013 and 2019 tournaments combined (6 in 9 games).
- Namibia qualified for this year's AFCON knockout stages as one of the four best third-place-ranked teams; they scored just one goal and had a goal difference of -3, becoming only the seventh side to progress from a group despite netting just one goal.
- Only Tanzania (12) had fewer shots in the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations group stage than Namibia managed (22). Indeed, of the 16 qualified teams, only Mauritania (17) faced more shots on target in the group stage than Namibia did (14).
- In the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations group stage, Namibia completed the fewest passes (545) and was the only side with a passing accuracy lower than 70% across their three games (67.5%).
- Angola has had four different scorers at this year's CAF Africa Cup of Nations (Mabululu, Gelson Dala, Gilberto, Zine), their joint-most at a single edition along with 1998 (Lázaro Oliveira, Paulo Jorge Da Silva, Miguel Pereira & Quinzinho).
- Both Mabululu and Gelson Dala have two goals apiece for Angola at this year's CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Only two players have ever netted three goals at one edition for Angola: Manucho (4 in 2008, 3 in 2012) and Flávio (3 in 2006, 3 in 2010).