The Heart Rules the Head

In 1994, the Zambian football team perished in a tragic plane crash in Libreville, Gabon. In 2012, the Zambian football team have beaten the odds to win the African Cup of Nations for the first time in their history. The favourites, Ivory Coast, finish runners-up without even conceding a goal in the tournament.

The best chance of the game fell to Chelsea's Didier Drogba. But he blasted his 70th-minute penalty over the bar. Zambia's best moment came in extra time when they hit the post and the match fell into the penalty shoot-out.

The sides couldn't be separated in the penalties as that also went into sudden death. Leicester's Sol Bamba had his penalty saved at 1-1, but the linesman ruled that keeper, Kennedy Mweene, had moved off his line before the kick was taken and a retake was forced. Bamba scored on the second time of asking and Drogba also stepped up again as the penalties went to 5-5. Kolo Toure then had his penalty saved before Rainford Kalaba hit his penalty over to keep the score at 7-7. Arsenal's Gervinho then smashed his penalty wide leaving Stophira Sunzu to score the winning goal to give Zambia their emotional victory.

2012 ACN: Semi-Finals

Zambia will face an emotional return to Libreville where their team of '93 sadly lost their lives in a plane crash. Now they will head back to participate in their first African Cup of Nations final since 1994 after a surprise victory over Ghana. The Ghanaian side were very much the favourites and were awarded a penalty after six minutes when Kwadwo Asamoah was allegedly tripped. Asamoah Gyan stepped up but his spot-kick was expertly saved by Kennedy Mweene. Both teams had chances throughout the match but the game was won 12-minutes from time, substitute Emmanuel Mayuka's spectacular effort hitting off the post for his third goal of the tournament. Ghana's chances of an equaliser suffered greatly when Derek Boateng received his second yellow card with six minutes remaining. Zambia held on to an historic victory and will travel to the emotional pasture of Libreville on Sunday.

Zambia will face a tough task if they are to win their first African Cup of Nations. They will face pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast who are still yet to lose a game in this campaign, qualifiers included. Ivory Coast faced Mali in the other semi-final and the two teams were also separated by the single goal. Arsenal's Gervinho hasn't been full of goals at The Emirates, but he has put Ivory Coast through with the goal just before half-time.

2012 ACN: Quarter Finals

Zambia found it relatively against Sudan to place themselves into the semi-finals. 22-year-old Stophira Sunzu put Zambia ahead after 14-minutes. Christopher Katongo has probably been Zambia's best player of the tournament so far and he scored their second on 65-minutes, a minute after Ali Idris Farah received a red card for Sudan. The win was ensured five minutes from time with James Chamanga scoring Zambia's third.

Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea couldn't produce another shock over favourites Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba did miss have a first half penalty saved before he took full advantage of a defensive error to give Ivory Coast the lead ten minutes before half-time. Drogba was on the score-sheet again on 68-minutes with Manchester City's Yaya Toure scoring a fantastic free-kick to make it 3-0 with ten minutes left.

The other co- hosts Gabon suffered major heart-break at the hands of Mali. The dream looked like it was going to come true when Eric Mouloungui put them ahead nine minutes into the second half. But Cheick Diabate rescued Mali six minutes from time. Abdoulaye Maiga then received a red card a minute later to force Mali to ten men for the extra time period. Gabon couldn't capitalise and it went to the dreaded penalty shoot-out. The penalties went just as close with Mali winning it 5-4 to scrape through.  

The final quarter-final also went into the extra period as Ghana faced Tunisia. Jon Mensah came back from suspension and put Ghana ahead after just eight minutes. Evian's Saber Khelifa equalised four minutes before half-time and extra time ensured. But Andre Ayew scored dead on 100-minutes to put Ghana into the semi-finals.    

2012 ACN: Group D Game Three

The final group saw Guinea and Mali battle it out to join Ghana in the knock-out phase. Mali took on the already eliminated Botswana while Guinea had the unenviable task of getting something against the co-favourites.

The first goal of the night saw Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu hit a fantastic volley into the top corner to give Ghana the lead on 27-minutes. Guinea levelled just before half-time when Abdoul Camara miss-hit a cross that lobbed the Ghanaian keeper into the net. It got better for Guinea when Botswana took a surprise lead in the other game, Mogakolodi Ngele scoring four minutes into the second half.

Mali stared elimination in the face until Garra Dembele equalised six minutes after going behind. Guinea remained level against Ghana but it wasn't enough as Seydou Keita made it 2-1 to Mali 17-minutes before the end to knock Guinea out of this year's tournament. Table:

Ghana         7
Mali            6
Guinea        4
Botswana    0  

2012 ACN: Group B Game Three

Goal difference always plays apart in tournaments and this African Cup of Nations is no difference. Angola met Ivory Coast needing just a point while Sudan met Burkina Faso needing to win. Sudan also needed a three goal swing in order to progress at Angola's expense.

Poor defending from Angola allowed Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue to tap home a low cross on 32-minutes. At the same time, Eltaib Mudather had escaped an awful attempt at a tackle and put Sudan ahead. As it stood, Angola would still go through, but only on goals scored. Angola committed footballing suicide when reserve keeper, Costa, came for a ball that he was never going to get. Dany Massunguna got to the through ball first and headed the ball past the keeper, Bony Wilfried applied the finishing touch to make it 2-0 after 64-minutes. This set of score-lines would put Angola out on goal difference.

It got even better for Sudan when Mudather made it 2-0 with just eleven minutes to play to further put themselves into the next phase. Issiaka Ouedraogo pulled a goal back for Burkina Faso in injury time but it wasn't enough to prevent Sudan from winning their first ACN game since 1976. Table:

Ivory Coast      9
Sudan              4   0
Angola             4  -1
Burkina Faso   0

2012 ACN: Group A Game Three

Libya needed to win and hope Zambia lost to progress into the knock-out phase of the competition. Libya faced the disappointing Senegal and Elbusaifi Ihab put the underdogs after just four minutes. But Senegal responded and equalised six minutes with Ndeme Ndiaye headed them level. Ihab went one better, however, and put Libya back in front with seven minutes to play to leave Senegal pointless at the end of their campaign.

Meanwhile, Zambia were unaware of what was going on in Bata as they faced Equatorial Guinea at the same time. There was only one goal in the match and it came after 68-minutes, Christopher Katongo scoring his second of the tournament to put Zambia through at Libya's expense. Table:

Zambia                  7
Equatorial Guinea  6
Libya                     4
Senegal                 0

2012 ACN: Group D Game Two

The first thrashing of the tournament came on the sixth day as Guinea played Botswana. Sadio Diallo started this game for Guinea and gave them the lead after just 15-minutes. Botswana were then given a penalty but Moussa Yattara initially saved Dipsy Selolwane's effort, however the linesman declared the keeper had infringed whilst saving it and Selolwane got a second chance. He stepped again and went the opposite way to level after 23-minutes. They were level for just four minutes before Diallo netted a second time to begin the onslaught. A quick free-kick out-foxed the Botswana defender and Abdoul Camara finished it off three minutes before half-time. Guinea managed a fourth just before the break when substitute Patrick Motsepe was sent off for a high, studs in challenge. The resulting free-kick was smashed in off the post by Ibrahima Traore to make it 4-1. Guinea then left it late to take any more advantage of the man difference with Mamadou Bah making it five with eight minutes to go and Ismael Bangour completed the rout four minutes later.

Ghana has almost made it into the knock-out by beating Mali. Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan put Ghana ahead on 63-minutes before Olympique Marseille's Andre Ayew made it 2-0 with 14-minutes to go. Ghana lead group D with six points, Mali and Guinea are together on three points with Botswana virtually out with no points and a much poorer goal difference.    

2012 ACN: Group C Game Two

Group C is already done and dusted bar the shouting, in extremely dramatic circumstances. The day kicked off with Niger against Tunisia. Youseff Msakni scored his second goal of the tournament after just three minutes before William N'Gounou equalised seven minutes later. But Tunisia guaranteed themselves progression at Niger's expense in the last minute of normal time, Issam Jemaa scoring the winning goal.

If that wasn't dramatic enough, then Gabon's competition with Equatorial Guinea for who can secure the biggest shock went into round two. Senegal were knocked out by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon retorted by eliminating Morocco. Houssine Kharja scored his second goal of the tournament after 23-minutes to give Morocco the lead. But a fantastic volley from Yann Bidonga on 76-minutes and a surprise swivelled goal from Daniel Cousin two minutes put Gabon ahead and looked to be through. However, the game wasn't completed and Morocco were given a dubious penalty for a harsh handball on 90-minutes, Kharja stepped up and converted to make it 2-2 with five minutes of injury time to play. If Morocco thought that they had salvaged themselves then they should have thought again. A horror tackle from Mehdi Benatia, who was extremely lucky to have only received a yellow card, meant Gabon had a 96th-minute free-kick from twenty yards. Bruno Zita stepped over the ball before dispatching a wonderful shot past Nadir Lamyaghri to earn Gabon their second win of the tournament, joining their co-hosts in the quarter finals.    

2012 ACN: Group B Game Two

After Equatorial Guinea's shock result yesterday, it became the second worst ranked team's turn to produce a surprise result of their own. Angola faced Sudan knowing that a win would almost certainly put them through and Manucho got them off to the perfect start with his second goal of the tournament after just four minutes thanks to some poor defending. Sudan fought back and Mohamed Youssif Basheer scored his country's first proper Africa Cup of Nations goal since 1976, equalising 13-minutes before half-time. Angola would again take the lead just four minutes into the second half with Manucho dispatching a penalty. But Basheer kept Sudan's hopes of qualifying alive with a second equaliser 17-minutes before the end of the match.

Ivory Coast have indeed 'coasted' into the knock-out phase without hitting anything like top gear. They followed up their 1-0 win over Sudan with Chelsea's Salomon Kalou scoring after 15-minutes to take the lead against Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso hit the bar in the second half which could have maybe earned them a point but Lyon's Bakary Kone sealed his team's fate by heading the ball into his own net nine minutes from the end. The Elephants are now guaranteed to progress while Burkina Faso are out. Sudan must beat Burkina Faso and hope Ivory Coast beat Angola for Sudan to progress via goal difference.

2012 ACN: Group A Game Two

The day's fixtures were delayed due to a freak storm that caused mass water-logging in some areas of the pitch. If it was a league match, the first match between Libya and Zambia would have been called off as the ball wouldn't roll in these boggy patches. But the poor conditions caused the most goals so far in a game and Ahmed Osman Sadd put Libya ahead after just five minutes. Bright young talent, Emmanuel Mayuka, scored his second of the tournament to equalise just before the half-hour mark. The ground-staff decided that a tractor would help get rid of the remaining water, but instead it tore the pitch up and left tyre marks within the patches. Again it didn't stop Libya taking an early lead, Osman Sadd again scored to make it 2-1 just two minutes into the second half. But Zambia equalised seven minutes later when an overhead kicked cross was tapped home by Christopher Katongo. This leaves Zambia on four points from two games with Libya on one.

The conditions of the pitch had improved for the second game between Equatorial Guinea and Senegal. The game was as dramatic as they come as one of the biggest shocks in the history of world football took place. Senegal are rated 110 places higher than the co-hosts but Jorge Randy put Equatorial Guinea ahead on 62 minutes. Senegal's defending had improved since the defeat to Zambia but their attacking hadn't. Substitute Moussa Sow was able to level with two minutes remaining to keep Senegal in the tournament. With five minutes of extra time remaining and Senegal the side looking to score again, no-one saw David Kily's shock winner with a 25-yard blast into the top corner. The result sees third favourites Senegal dumped out of the tournament and the first time entrants, Equatorial Guinea, have made it into the quarter finals.

2012 ACN: Group D Game One

Highly rated Ghana kicked their tournament off against severe underdogs Botswana. But, like most of the games so far, the game didn't reflect the chasm in the FIFA World Ranking. Former Sunderland player, John Mensah, had a mixed game. The Ghanaian vice-captain tapped the ball home from a corner after 25-minutes before then giving Botswana a chance to get back into the game by earning the first red card of the tournament,  making a foul on Jerome Ramatlhakwana to deny a possible goal scoring opportunity on 66-minutes. Botswana couldn't make the advantage count and Ghana take the three points.  

The game between Mali and Guinea was already being billed as the battle for second place. The games was played at a high tempo for most of it and the neighbouring countries did come to blows at times, but it was all kept under control. The only goal of the game came just after the half hour mark with Nancy's Bakaye Traore finding the top corner for Mali.

2012 ACN: Group C Game One

Gabon started their tournament off in the same vain as their fellow co-hosts Equatorial Guinea. Gabon faced Niger in the opening game of Group C and looked much stronger than their inexperienced opponents. 27-year-old Stephane N'Guema produced a man of the match performance in front of his home crowd and sent a cross on the half hour mark to Saint-Etienne's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The 22-year-old sent his powerful header past the Niger keeper to give Gabon a well deserved lead. Gabon doubled their lead in first half injury time with N'Guema slotting home a parried shot to give the hosts a well deserved three points.

The best game so far, on paper, produced arguably the best game so far as Tunisia faced Morocco in a North African derby. Morocco were arguably the better team in the first half but a superb performance by keeper Aymen Mathlouthi kept the match goalless. Tunisia had less possession but still managed the take the lead when Khaled Korbi's 36th-minute free-kick went over everyone and into the net. It got better for Tunisia as Youseff MSakni tried matching Manucho's wonder-strike with a brilliant solo goal on 76-minutes to make it 2-0, a great way to score your first goal for your country. There was a tense ending to the game as Houssine Kharja pulled a goal back from a corner, but there was a clear offside in the build-up to the goal which the officials missed. Things threatened to boil over as the nerves kicked, however South African referee, Daniel Bennett, was able to keep things calm as the game finished 2-1.

2012 ACN: Group B Game One

With fourth favourites Senegal losing to Zambia yesterday in group A, first favourites Ivory Coast kicked their tournament off against Sudan in group B. Many predicted a glistening performance and a feast of goals, unfortunately that didn't happen as Sudan put in a brave performance. The only goal of the match came six minutes before half-time with Didier Drogba earning the three points for Ivory Coast.

The other game in group B saw rank outsiders Burkina Faso take on 2006 World Cup competitors Angola. After a goalless first half, poor defending allowed Galiano Da Costa to put Angola ahead just two minutes into the second period. Burkina Faso did produce good football at times and well deserved their equaliser, a fantastic free-kick from Alain Traore that nestled into the bottom corner on 57 minutes. Unfortunately, Burkina Faso couldn't hold on to an historic draw and one-time Manchester United player, Manucho, scored on 68 minutes to join Ivory Coast at the top of group B.

2012 African Cup of Nations Begins

The 2012 African Cup of Nations began in Bata tonight as history was made. After the fireworks from the opening ceremony and the laborious speeches, the tournament kicked off with co-hosts Equatorial Guinea taking part in their first ever ACN match, against Libya. Libya are entering their third tournament and started the game brightly. But Libya's major problem was their defence and Equatorial Guinea soon found themselves in behind the back line. Libya's keeper and captain, Samir Abod, looked rather frail throughout the match and his performance included a first half Massimo Taibi-esque save which went underneath him, the resulting goal was ruled out for offside.

The second half was rather dull compared to the first as the reality and enormity of not losing came into the teams' minds. But a goal did come as former Real Madrid player, Javier-Angel Balboa, beat the offside trap to finish coolly to give Equatorial Guinea their first ever win in the African Cup of Nations.

The second game of the night also came from Group A as highly rated Senegal took on Zambia. Senegal scored sixteen goals in their five qualifying games whereas Zambia only conceded three, so something had to give. Despite boasting a formidable striking force with the likes of Newcastle's Demba Ba, Lyon's Moussa Sow and Newcastle's newest signing Papiss Cisse, Senegal's defence was of a different breed. Time and time again Zambia found themselves in behind the frail back-line and it took just 12 minutes before Emmanuel Mayuka scored one-on-one against Bouna Coundoul. Zambia were in again just eight minutes later and the highly rated Rainford Kalaba made it 2-0. Senegal regrouped in the second half and produced a better performance. 28th minute substitute, Dame NDoye, pulled a goal back for Senegal with sixteen minutes left but it wasn't enough to change the result.

This would mean that if Zambia beat Libya in game two, Zambia would be almost guaranteed progression and Libya would be almost guaranteed an exit from the competition.