AFCON
Namibia Hope To Upset Angola In First Knockout Game –
The Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 round of 16 games will start with Angola and Namibia facing each other at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on Saturday, January 27.
Angola managed to top Group D with 7 points. They recorded wins over Mauritania and Burkina Faso and a draw with Algeria.
Namibia on the other hand recorded their first and only win in the history of the AFCON, the victory played a vital role in their qualification to the knockout phase.
Stade de la Paix is a familiar ground for Angola. They played two of their group games at the venue in Bouake.
With two Man of the Match awards, Deon Hotto has been the key man for the Brave Warriors.
Gelson Dala who featured in CAF’s team of the group stage has scored two goals so far for Angola. He will be the main problem for the Namibian defense to deal with.
Both coaches are excited about their qualification. They still expect their teams to show up for the round of 16 game and hopefully write more history in the tournament.
Pedro Gonçalves – Angola head coach
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.
Our focus is to be on the pitch and deliver and in the end beat Namibia.
For sure, it will be very tough but I have confidence tomorrow everybody will do a great job.
Namibia is a very powerful team, they are very brave. We need to be considerate in our passing. We have to be balance because if we lose our balance, Namibia can be dangerous for us.
Collin Benjamin – Namibia head coach
We have some good technical players with big hearts and there is the signature of the coach, there is some players who have been with the team since 2019, and there is continuity and security. We are a very good team, 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 and they understand everything about the team. We are aware of what to do, it is very important to have a stable defense,
We want to be part of the best 16 teams in Africa and definitely we are among the best 16, it is a motivation in itself. I don’t remember if Namibia will go into any game with the odds favoring us, it will always go against us.
I agree that there is no small team left in the tournament anymore. Our coaches are educated to know that players are playing at good levels, and they are hungry.
-CAF
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations
Many fans risk missing 2026 World Cup as Visa window for visitors is closing
Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji becomes third African scoring debutant in Uefa Champions League
Lagos sports writers mourn Adeyinka Adebayo
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON1 week agoSuper Eagles lead Afcon Group D qualifiers despite Benin’s defeat of Libya
-
AFCON1 week agoAustin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF
-
AFCON1 week agoWhy I benched Osimhen again – Eguavoen
-
AFCON1 week agoRwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoWesterhof recommends Siasia for Super Eagles’ job
-
AFCON1 week agoNigeria’s managerial crisis resumes as Eguavoen reportedly declines to continue
-
AFCON1 week agoPresent and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
-
CAF Confederation Cup7 days agoEnyimba continues unbeaten run against Burkina Faso clubs