Bafana might just about be favourites given they are 2026 World Cup qualifiers and finished third at the Cup of Nations two years ago, but there is plenty of danger within this Angolan side who cannot be underestimated.
Here are five players who could take the Angolans to victory.
The centre-back plays for Lecce in Serie A and has been a regular feature for Angola since he made his debut in 2021. He is strong and reads the game well, and will likely be the man to track Bafana’s lone striker, be it Lyle Foster or Evidence Makgopa. He has played every minute of the Serie A season so far for Lecce, so is in form and has minutes in the tank. He previously played in the Portuguese topflight for Estrela.
His name says it all perhaps. The 22-year-old defensive midfielder was a part of the Angola side that reached the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup and later moved to Portugal and Benfica. He did not play for the first team but in 2024 moved to Turkey with first Adana Demirspor and then current club Alanyaspor this season. He is adept at sitting in front of the back four and offering a screen, and while not the tallest of players, packs plenty of power. His work rate is also an asset.
The French-born attacking midfielder is a relative newcomer to the Angolan side having made his debut last year. He has spent the last four seasons at LaLiga side Rayo Vallecano, with a loan spell at Elche too, and brings guile and football intelligence, with a healthy smattering of goals. He has found game-time harder to come by at his club this season but will know the Cup of Nations is the perfect platform to prove he deserves more. He features for the victorious Angola side in the 2025 COSAFA Cup in Bloemfontein.
The main goals threat from Angola, Dala is now a seasoned forward who spent several seasons in the Portuguese top-flight with Sporting Lisbon, where he did not get a fair crack, and Rio Ave before moving to Al-Wakrah in Qatar. Over his club career he averages a goal every other game and does enjoy a goal against South Africa, having netted twice against them before – in an African Nations Championship qualifier and World Cup qualifier in 2015 that were played within days of each other. He scored four goals at the last Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast, two against Mauritania and two versus Namibia.
The forward is a tricky customer and while not prolific in front of goal, can move defences around the pitch and create space for others. Think Makgopa for Bafana. He has spent most of his career playing for various top clubs in Angola, before a move to Al Ittihad in Egypt in 2021, and then a 2024 switch to Libyan side Al Ahli Tripoli. He has been in and out of the Angolan side, having made his debut in 2013, but amassed under 40 caps in the 12 years since. He also scored three goals at the Cup of Nations two years ago, with his strike against Namibia voted CAF Goal of the Year for the superb technique he showed. Awkward and ungainly, he is still capable of remarkable things.