Angola banking on home advantage

Hosts Angola kick off the African Nations Cup against Mali today at Luanda's new 50,000-seater November 11th stadium, hoping that home support will spur them on to an ideal start to a tournament that has already been marred by a gun attack on the Togo...

Hosts Angola kick off the African Nations Cup against Mali today at Luanda's new 50,000-seater November 11th stadium, hoping that home support will spur them on to an ideal start to a tournament that has already been marred by a gun attack on the Togo team bus.

Despite being one of the lowest ranked sides in the 16-team competition, Angola believe home advantage will give them a vital edge in the Group A encounter against a Mali team boasting several key players from the Spanish league.

"A good professional is always motivated to play in front of a lot of people and having 50,000 fans cheering us on is a huge motivation," Angola's Mantorras said.

Angola's opponents have built a team around the skill and experience of Spain-based trio Mahamadou Diarra, Seydou Keita and Frederic Kanoute, a former African Footballer of the Year.

Mali have been buoyed by the news that Barcelona's Keita and Sevilla's Kanoute have both been declared fit for today's opener after missing the warm-up matches in Qatar.

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