The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final was a football match that took place on 12 February 2012 between Zambia and Ivory Coast. The match took place at the Stade d'Angondjé in Libreville, Gabon, to determine the winner of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This match was an emotional match for Zambia, as the stadium is located near the spot where most of the Zambian national team died when their aeroplane crashed in 1993. The kickoff time was delayed by 30 minutes to 20:30.
Zambia won the title for the first time by beating Ivory Coast 8–7 on penalties after the only goalless draw in the entire tournament.
Background This was the third appearance in the final for Zambia; the "Copper Bullets" lost in 1974 and 1994. After a surprising start and a win over Senegal, they drew with Libya before winning the deciding match against the host Equatorial Guinea and winning the group. In the quarterfinals they won 3–0 against Sudan and shocked Ghana as they defeated them 1–0 in the semifinals. Both Christopher Katongo and Emmanuel Mayuka scored three goals in the first five matches to help Zambia to reach the final. The match was an emotional one for Zambia, as the stadium in Libreville was just kilometres away from the site of the 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster, in which 18 players were killed.
Ivory Coast also appeared in their third final. They won it in 1992 and lost in 2006. The "Elephants" had gone through the tournament so far without conceding a goal and winning all of their matches. It started with a victory against Sudan, followed by two wins against Burkina Faso and Angola, the latter one without some of the best players. The quarterfinal was won against co-host Equatorial Guinea, before Mali was beaten 1–0. Didier Drogba joins Katongo and Mayuka with three goals himself at the top of the goalscorers.
Route to the final ZambiaRoundIvory CoastOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult2–1Match 11–02–2Match 22–01–0Match 32–0Final standingOpponentResultKnockout stageOpponentResult3–0Quarterfinals3–01–0Semifinals1–0
Match details
Details
GK 16 Kennedy Mweene RB 6 Davies Nkausu CB 13 Stophira Sunzu CB 5 Hijani Himoonde LB 4 Joseph Musonda RM 20 Emmanuel Mayuka CM 8 Isaac Chansa CM 19 Nathan Sinkala LM 17 Rainford Kalaba SS 3 Chisamba Lungu CF 11 Christopher Katongo (c)Substitutions: DF 23 Nyambe Mulenga MF 10 Felix Katongo Manager: Hervé Renard GK 1 Boubacar Barry RB 6 Jean-Jacques Gosso CB 4 Kolo Touré CB 22 Sol Bamba LB 17 Siaka Tiéné RM 5 Didier Zokora CM 19 Yaya Touré LM 9 Cheick Tioté AM 10 Gervinho AM 8 Salomon Kalou CF 11 Didier Drogba (c)Substitutions: MF 15 Max Gradel MF 13 Didier Ya Konan FW 12 Wilfried Bony Manager: François Zahoui
Assistant referees: Bechir Hassani (Tunisia) Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon) Fourth official: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)
Notes
References
External links Official Site