The Orange Africa Cup of nations has come full circle now and we are in the semi final/half final stage.
Zambia face Ghana in the first semi final which will be played in Bata at 16:00 GMT
Zambia’s Chipolopolo has had a great journey so far. They have beaten Africa football giants Senegal 2 – 1 in the opening group stage match. Emmanuel Mayuka and Rainford Kalaba got Zambia's first half goals, with Senegal substitute Dame Ndoye pulling one back in the second half. They drew 2 – 2 with Libya in their other match and in the final group A match, the Chipolopolo beat the co-host Equatorial Guinea 1 – 0 to finish top of the group with seven points. In the quarter finals, they dispatched Sudan 3 – 0. I believe Zambia is the team to watch so far since they will be the underdogs facing the Black Stars of Ghana.
Chris Katongo, the Chipolopolo’s Captain will be the main man. He has scored key goals and works had for his side and today will be no different.
Ghana has had a good run in the competition which I would say was expected. They finished top of group D after beating Botswana by one goal to nil, Mali two goals to nil and had a one all draw in their final match against Guinea. The Black stars, who are one of the favorites to win the Trophy beat Tunisia 2 – 1 in quarter finals to book a place in the semi final.
Ghana’s captain John Mensah will be the key man for Ghana with his experience which they will really need against a dangerous Zambia side bearing in mind some key players like Asamoah Gyan have not been in top for in this competition.
Mali face Ivory Coast in the second semi final which will be played in Libreville at 19:00 GMT
It will be a very huge mountain for Mali to climb since Ivory Coast has won all their matches in this competition. They had a slow start when they beat Sudan 1 – 0 in their first game but they have found great form since then. They thrashed their West African neighbours Burkina Faso 2 – 0 and dispatched Angola with the same margin to finish on top of group B with maximum points (9). In the quarter finals they beat co-hosts Equatorial Guinea by three goals to nil. Didier Drogba missed a penalty but made amends by scoring an incredible goal which he followed with a stunning header to make it two nil. Manchester City’s Yaya Toure struck a beautiful freekick to make it three nil and end the co-hosts participation in the competition.
Mali on the other had haven’t had an impressive run. They beat Guinea by one goal to nil in their opening match of the campaign. In the second match, they were beaten by Ghana by two goals to nil and in their final game, they beat Botswana by two goals to one. They were lucky that Ghana had a draw with Guinea in their final and that’s how they got through as runners-up of group D. In the quarter finals, they faced co-hosts Gabon. They battled to a one all draw after extra time and they won 5 – 4 from spot kicks.
They have a huge task ahead of them since they don’t have a good record against their rivals Ivory Coast. They have beaten them only once in twenty one meetings.
Barcelona’s Seydou Keita will be the man to watch though I don’t he alone will get them through a star riddled Ivory Coast side. But all this will be know at the final whistle, they might cause an upset.
MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!
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