Angola were able to call-up a full strength squad of home based players for Saturday’s Chan-2016 qualifier against South Africa at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg‚ although they have been hampered by some late injuries.

The conclusion of the Angolan GiraBola league season last weekend means that coach Romeu Filemon has had a free reign with his selection‚ in contrast with South Africa having to scratch around Premier Soccer League clubs looking for players who are not involved in weekend league and cup action.

But Angola have seen defender Carlitos‚ originally one of six players selected from champions Recreativo Libolo‚ pull out with injury‚ as well as veteran Gilberto‚ who captained his country when South Africa beat them in a friendly in August in Cape Town.

Gilberto‚ who was just 17 when he made his debut for Angola in an African Nations Cup qualifier against Bafana in Luanda in 1999‚ is still a strong force for the “Palancas Negras” at the age of 33 and will is likely to be missed.

Angola arrived in Johannesburg on Tuesday after just a light session together in Luanda on Monday before their departure.

The second leg of the tie is set for Luanda’s cavernous November 11 Stadium on Saturday.

Angola beat Swaziland 4-2 on aggregate in the previous round of CHAN qualifying while South Africa saw off Mauritius. The winner of this tie grabs a place in the CHAN- 2017 finals in Rwanda next January.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Joao Batista (InterClube)‚ Mário (Kabuscorp)

Defenders: Eddie Afonso (Recreativo Libolo)‚ Fabricio (InterClube)‚ Gância (Desportivo Huíla)‚ Kuagica (Recreativo Libolo)‚ Miguel (Benfica Luanda)‚ Paty (InterClube)‚ Silva (Kabuscorp)

Midfielders: Ary Papel (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Gomito II (Benfica Luanda)‚ Isaac‚ Manucho Dinis‚ Mingo Bille (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Moco (InterClube)‚ Rudy (Recreativo Libolo)

Forwards: Dário‚ Freddy (Recreativo Libolo)‚ Gelson (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Job (Petro Atletico)‚ Mateus Galiano (Primeiro Agosto)‚ Pirolito (InterClube).