Bastos, the sole African International in the Lazio squad, was called into action for his nation of Angola as per usual. The captain of the team, the defender led the Palancas Negras to victory over Burkina Faso in Matchday 5 of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. His nation now sits in second place in the group (nine points) behind Mauritania (12 points) with just one match left to play; for Angola, this will be against last-placed Botswana.
The first goal came in the 45’+1′ from Mateus Galiano da Costa – the 34-year old striker who currently plays his football with Boavista in the Portuguese first division (Primeira Liga). After a terrific worked play down the right side of the pitch, the ball found him inside the 18-yard box and he finished perfectly into the top left corner of the net. After the break, a sprint down the left-hand side occurred. A low driven cross into the 6-yard box was met yet again by the veteran as he put Angola up 2-0 (57′ minute). Burkina Faso would get a goal back: off a corner, everyone was caught sleeping and Issoufou Dayo capitalized with a brilliant first-time volley into the bottom left of the net.
