Angola midfielder Nelson da Luz will miss out on the two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for his country against Ghana after missing his flight to join up with the squad on Monday.
The Portuguese-based player was involved in an accident on the motorway on his way to the airport and therefore missed his flight, with coach Pedro Gonçalves moving quickly to replace him in the squad for the two Group E qualifiers against the Black Stars, the first of which will be played in Kumasi on Thursday.
The Angolan Football Federation said the Vitória Guimarães player was being replaced “for not showing up” but Da Luz says he contacted officials to arrange a new flight from Portugal to Algeria, where the Palancas Negras have been preparing for the qualifiers.
Da Luz told Portuguese newspapers he had not received an answer to his request for a new flight.
The 25-year-old, who was born in Luanda, has played 11 times for Angola including their opening two Cup of Nations qualifiers last June when Angola collected four points by beating the Central African Republic and drawing with Madagascar.
