Amos Annan

What: African Cup of Nations Final
Who: Zambia vs Ivory Coast
When: Sunday 12th February, 2012, at 19:30 UK Time
Where: Stade d’Angondje, Libreville, Gabon

An Emotional Return to Gabon

It was just over a decade ago that a plane carrying arguably the finest class of Zambian footballers crashed off the shores of Gabon, killing all players and officials. It has often been mused what might have been if some of those players had been alive when the Zambians reached the country’s second African Cup of Nations final a year later in 1994. Having lost that final, it has taken quite a while to build another Zambian team capable of challenging for honours on the African continent, but here they are again – in another final. Perhaps this time they can make it count, lifting the trophy for the first time in their history, to remember fallen heroes from a decade ago. Against tournament favourites Ivory Coast though, this is no easy task, to say the least.

Throughout the 2012 tournament, the Chipolopolo have been one of the teams to really catch the eye with impressive passing and attacking displays against most of the sides they have come up against. Zambia are therefore fully deserving of their spot in the final, but whether they can win the trophy is another matter altogether.

The southern African team’s famous semi-final win against Ghana was somewhat fortunate, but they might have earned that with a battling defensive display against the profligate Black Stars side. Zambia will need to step up their game if they are to give the more clinical Ivorians a hard time, and as a result, get their hands on the trophy.

Name Already Engraved on the Cup

The Elephants have been touted as the eventual winners of this year’s edition of the African Cup of Nations right from the outset, and it is no surprise that they have made it to the final. In all honesty, it was expected, given the absence of several of the continent’s more challenging opponents such as Nigeria, Egypt and Cameroon. The countries in the competition that could have put up a stronger challenge, that is Ghana and Senegal, have both lost out, with some uninspiring displays. Hence, the title of being the best footballing nation in Africa for the year 2012 is there for the taking. Thus, if they keep their focus, and barring any unforeseen occurrences, the cup should rightly belong to the Elephants.

The West African nation did not have the best of semi-finals, where they got their biggest test of the finals against a stubborn and improved Mali side. Gervinho’s solo goal was enough to secure a place in the final but that is a wake-up call for the Ivorians, who must know that victory over Zambia in the final may not be as straightforward as it looks. Still yet to concede, the tight backline of the Elephants are sure to be relied upon to be even more watertight and if they achieve that, the trophy should be theirs. If they do concede a goal though, things could prove quite difficult.

Recent form

Zambia:
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Zambia (29/01; Group A)
Zambia 3-0 Sudan (04/02; Quarter-finals)
Zambia 1-0 Ghana (08/02; Semi-finals)

Ivory Coast:
Ivory Coast 2-0 Angola (30/01; Group C)
Ivory Coast 3-0 Equatorial Guinea (04/02; Quarter-finals)
Mali 0-1 Ivory Coast (08/02; Semi-finals)

Players to watch

Zambia – Christopher Katongo: Following his leadership of the side into the quarter-finals, the Zambian captain has been decorated with the honour of being promoted from Sergeant to Warrant Officer class one in the Zambian army. That, of course, is an important leap forward for the midfielder, but what would really crown his time in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon would be getting his hands on the African Cup of Nations trophy itself. With this motivation, and knowing that his performance was not the best in his last match against Ghana, he will have to improve to keep the likes of Yaya Toure in the Ivorian midfield quiet.

Ivory Coast – Didier Drogba: Two goals against Equatorial Guinea meant the Chelsea man has now scored three goals overall in this tournament. However, the captain’s last game against Mali was not so memorable, despite the fact that the Ivorians were still victorious. This being the final of the competition itself, it is expected that Drogba will play his heart out, leading his side to victory, because if there is one man the Ivorians can count on in the big games, it is the big man himself.

Match Prediction

This may look like a mismatch on paper, but it should be a close game with the Zambians the underdogs as expected. But the Chipolopolo need to work as hard as they did against Ghana if they are to get anything from this final. They must not allow the Elephants to intimidate them, and they need at least a bit of luck on their side as well. Otherwise, the Ivory Coast should not have it too difficult, if they are clinical in front of goal. Zambia 0-1 Ivory Coast.

 


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