Valencia CF lose 1-3 to Angolan champions Petro de Luanda in first preseason friendly

Published Jul 22, 04:11 AM UTC

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Valencia CF concluded their first preseason training camp of the 2026-27 season in Girona with a 1-3 loss to Petro de Luanda, the reigning Angolan champions. The friendly, held behind closed doors at the Royalverd Training Center, served as the team's first competitive test under coach Carlos Corberán. Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq scored Valencia's only goal, while Tiago Reis, Vanilson, and former Valencia player Hélder Costa scored for the visitors. The club considered the session a training exercise rather than an official friendly, with no broadcast or media coverage. Pepelu missed a penalty during the match. Valencia will now train at Paterna and play friendlies against CD Eldense (July 22) and CD Castellón (July 25) before a planned camp in England. The La Liga season start has been delayed by a week due to Betis's request to postpone matchday 1, leading to a three-match week.

Source report

Updated: 19/07/2026 - 21:28 CEST By: Fernando Álvarez

Valencia concluded its first training camp of the 2026-27 preseason in Girona this Saturday with a 1-3 defeat against Petro de Luanda, the reigning champion of the Angolan First Division. The friendly, played behind closed doors at the Royalverd Training Center, served as the first competitive test of the summer for the team led by Carlos Corberán.

The Valencia squad began its return after a week of work at the sports complex located in the La Garrotxa region, within the Natural Reserve of the Volcanic Zone of Girona — the venue chosen by the club for the first stage of season preparation.

Match Highlights

Umar Sadiq scored Valencia's only goal, marking the first goal of the preseason for the Nigerian striker.
Tiago Reis opened the scoring for Petro de Luanda before halftime.
Vanilson made it 0-2 in the second half.
Former Valencia player Hélder Costa sealed the result with the final 1-3.

The session — officially considered by the club as a training session rather than a friendly — had no television broadcast or subsequent report from official media. As a result, few details of the match's development emerged, though it was reported by Fútbol Fantasy that Pepelu had a penalty kick that he failed to convert.

Next Steps

After finishing their stay in Girona, Valencia will resume training at the Paterna sports city. The preseason roadmap includes two new friendly matches at the Estadio Antonio Puchades:

July 22 — vs. CD Eldense
July 25 — vs. CD Castellón

These matches will precede a subsequent training camp planned in England.

Season Context

It should be noted that Valencia has significantly altered its summer preparation plan. The League does not start on the weekend of August 15, but a week later, when the team will have to play three matches in seven days due to the postponement requested by Betis for matchday 1.

Content shown outside its original language is machine translated; summaries may also be condensed.

Source

LALIGA EA Sports // marcaWestern

Original headline: El Valencia pone fin a su primer stage de pretemporada con una derrota ante el Petro de Luanda

Original language: ES

Part of this Story

Valencia CF Preseason Camp Ends with Loss to Petro de Luanda

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