A profile of 2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship hopefuls Angola, who return to the competition in Mauritius from July 19-29 having missed the previous two instalments.

COSAFA Under-17 Championship wins (0): None
Last years’ finish: Did not enter

African Under-17 Championship appearances (3): 1997, 1999, 2017
Best finish: Group Stages (1997, 1999, 2017)

FIFA Under-17 World Cup appearances (0): None

2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship fixtures:
20/07: vs Malawi – 10h00 – Auguste Vollaire Stadium
23/07: vs Swaziland – 15h00 – St Francois Xavier Stadium
25/07: vs Zimbabwe – 15h30 – St Francois Xavier Stadium

Summary:
Angola make a welcome return to the COSAFA Under-17 Championships having not appeared in the last two editions that were also staged in Mauritius.

But the country did qualify for the African Under-17 Championships last year Gabon, where they matched first round exits in their previous two visits to the continental showpiece in 1997 and 1999.

They narrowly missed out on the second round in the first of those, a 4-3 loss to Ethiopia that proved pivotal in their pool.

It was the same story two years later when they were defeated 2-1 by Mali in their final pool stage match in a difficult group that also included west African powerhouses Nigeria and Ghana.

They could not find the same competitive edge though in their campaign in Gabon last year though.

After an opening 1-1 draw with Niger, they lost to Tanzania (1-2) and Mali (1-6) to exit again at the first stage.

Angola have traditionally been a power in the COSAFA region though and were the first side to win the men’s senior championship three times.

They have continually produced excellent players and along with South Africa are the only team from the region to compete at the World Cup, taking their place in the field in Germany 2006.