Angola opened their TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 with a narrow 2-1 Group D loss to Mali on Tuesday.

After wins for Zambia and South Africa in their opening pool clashes at the tournament, Angola failed to make it a hat-trick, though they ran the fancied Malians close.

They fell behind to a Ndjicoura Bomba goal, but were level by halftime as Jayden Puna equalised.

But the West African side sealed the win in the second half as Soungalo Coulibaly netted with 16 minutes remaining.

Next up for Angola is a clash with Cote d’Ivoire on Friday. The latter thumped Central African Republic 6-1 in their opener.

Angola were finalists at the COSAFA Under-17 Championships that were staged in South Africa in December, but lost 2-1 to Zambia in the decider.

There will be a record 10 places for Africa at the new expanded 48-team FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar later this year, an opportunity for the continent to showcase its outstanding emerging talent on the global stage.

This will include the eight quarter-finalists and two more teams decided via play-off matches between the sides that finish third in their pools in the group stages.