Angola have appointed Brazil’s Roberto Bianchi as their new coach, the football federation said on Wednesday.
The 50-year-old, who has previously worked in Jordan, Spain, Montenegro and Indonesia replaces Jose Kilamba, who had been coaching Angola since 2015.
Bianchi, the fourth Brazilian to coach Angola, has been coach of Angolan club Petro de Luanda since last year.
“We have a huge challenge to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations,” Bianchi said.
Qualifying for the tournament in Cameroon will start in June, and Angola will face Burkina Faso, Botswana and Mauritania in their group.
Angola reached the Nations Cup quarter-finals in 2008 and 2010 and also qualified for the 2006 World Cup.
But they have failed to qualify for the last two Nations Cups and are already out of the running for 2018 World Cup, eliminated by South Africa.
The Palancas Negras (black antelopes) are ranked 45th out of 54 countries in Africa and 148th in the world.
“My mission is also to improve the country’s position in the Fifa rankings,” added Bianchi.
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