Angola name strong squad to face Bafana in Four Nations opener

Angola have recalled defender Bastos and veteran attacker Djalma Campos to their squad for the Four Nations tournament in Ndola‚ Zambia where they play South Africa in their semifinal match on Thursday.

The pair did not play in Angola’s last competitive game against Burkina Faso last June at the start of the 2019 African Nations Cup qualifiers.

The 26-year-old Bastos is on the books of Lazio in Italy and is Angola’s highest profile export as he plays regularly in Serie A after moving from Russia.

Djalma Campos‚ whose father was also an Angolan international‚ is an ex-FC Porto striker who plays for PAOK Salonika in Greece after previous spells in neighbouring Turkey.

Angola coach Srdjan Vasiljevic also picked Ary Papel‚ who is on the books of Sporting Lisbon but plays for their B team in the Portuguese second division and 19-year-old striker Va‚ who has just gone to Leixoes‚ who also play in the Portuguese second division.

Striker Gelson Dala‚ who is on loan from Sporting to Rio Ave in Portugal‚ misses out as he recovers from injury.

Angola have beaten South Africa just once in 13 previous meetings and Thursday’s game‚ which kicks off at 3pm‚ is preceded by the first semifinal between hosts Zambia and Zimbabwe (kick off 13h00).

The losers meet on Sunday for third place and the winners in the final later the same day.

All the matches at the hastily-arranged tournament are being played at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

Angola Squad: Goalkeepers: Gerson (Petro Atletico)‚ Landu (InterClube)‚ Neblu (Primeiro Agosto)

Defenders: Bastos (Lazio‚ Italy)‚ De Paiza (Kabuscorp)‚ Fabrício (InterClube)‚ Isaac (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Mira (Petro Atletico)‚ Nary (Kabuscorp)‚ To Carneiro (InterClube)‚ Wilson (Petro Atletico)

Midfielders: Almeida (Sagrada Esperanca)‚ Carlinhos (Petro Atletico)‚ Chow (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Herenilson‚ Job (both Petro Atletico)‚ Mano Calesso‚ Paty (both InterClube)

Forwards: Ary Papel (Sporting Lisbon‚ Portugal)‚ Djalma Campos (PAOK Salonika‚ Greece)‚ Fofo (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Vá (Leixoes‚ Portugal)‚ Yano (Progresso Sambizanga)