“Zambia 0-0 Ivory Coast (Zambia win 8-7 on pens). Stopila Sunzu began Sunday as an unheralded centre-back for the Congolese side TP Mazembe. He ended it as the unlikely hero of one of the greatest stories of redemption football has ever known. As Kalusha Bwalya, the greatest Zambian footballer of all time, was engulfed by the Zambia players after their victory in a penalty shoot-out, there were tears of joy but also tears born of the knowledge that this should have been his team-mates celebrating with him.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Zambia 0-0 Ivory Coast: Zambia win the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations on penalties
“Zambia completed an astonishing victory on penalties after a tight final. Hervé Renard made the predictable but astute decision to switch to the team which ended the semi-final win over Ghana. That meant Emmanuel Mayuka starting upfront, Chisamba Lungu on the wing, and Isaac Chansa back in the centre. After plenty of rotation throughout the competition, François Zahoui went for an unchanged side from the XI which beat Mali in the semi-final. However, there was an early change for Zambia when left-back Joseph Musonda went down injured, and was replaced by Nyambe Mulenga, shown on the diagram.” Zonal Marking

Zambia’s triumph heals 19-year-old rift with Gabon over plane disaster
“Of all the extraordinary memories of the Africa Cup of Nations final, perhaps the most remarkable was the reaction of the crowd. In the aftermath of the 1993 plane crash that killed 18 Zambia players just after take-off after refuelling at Libreville, relations between Zambia and Gabon sunk to ugly lows.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

The 2012 African Cup Of Nations: The Final
“Cote D’Ivoire never had a chance. Whatever the multi-talents of their squad, the Elephants were going to struggle in this African Cup of Nations final…up against two teams. As if the Zambian side at this competition wasn’t good enough, there was the memory of their 1993 predecessors with which to contend, and the current squad’s hugely admirable determination to do justice to that memory. Arguably Zambia’s most-talented, all-but-one of the 1993 squad lost their lives in a plane crash off the Gabonese coast near capital Libreville – the venue for this year’s final – as they journeyed to a World Cup qualifier in Senegal.” twohundredpercent

Best and worst moments from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
“From the disappointment of Senegal, to Kily Alvarez’s goal and Ali Bongo’s wild celebration…” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Spot-kick drama secures fairytale title
“Zambia clinched their first African Nations Cup crown with a poignant penalty shoot-out win over Ivory Coast. Nineteen years after a plane crash which killed 18 members of their squad in Libreville, the Chipolopolo returned to the Gabon capital to record the most famous victory in the country’s history. A dramatic shoot-out at the end of 120 minutes of largely underwhelming football went the way of Zambia when Gervinho shot wide and Stophira Sunzu stepped up to slot home.” ESPN

Zambia 3-0 Sudan
“Ghana have admitted they are lucky to have reached the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, after being gifted a quarter-final winner by Tunisia.” BBC

African Cup Of Nations: Ivory Coast, Ghana on collision course
“Thoughts on the winners from the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals…” SI

Six points on Ghana 2-1 Tunisia
“Ghana replicated the Ivory Coast’s tendency to rely on opposition mistakes and set-pieces to get their goals. Forcing errors in the opposition is a large part of attacking, and dead ball situations make up a high percentage of goals at any level of football. But the dependency on those two avenues is a damning indictment of the lack of creativity in the two sides considered to the best in the tournament. A final between the two is probable, but it could turn into a defensive stand-off.” Zonal Marking

Ivory Coast 3-0 Equatorial Guinea: Ivory Coast reliant on set-pieces and mistakes
“The individual quality of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure proved too much for Equatorial Guinea, but the Ivory Coast are yet to convince. Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui has made plenty of changes to his side in this competition – always in a 4-3-3 shape. He seems keen to utilise his strong squad, and almost every position aside from the goalkeeper and centre-backs has seen rotation.” Zonal Marking

“They came with great expectations and the most vaunted forward line in the tournament, but Senegal limped home from the Africa Cup of Nations having lost all three of their matches. In the usual run of things, you’d expect the coach, Amara Traoré not to be long for his job. A scapegoat, says the logic of international football, must be found, and the coach is as convenient a figure to sacrifice as anybody.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Why Senegal failed to shine at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
“To really grasp the nature of Senegal’s spectacular failure at this Africa Cup of Nations you need only look at the teams who finished above them in Group A. For Senegal to finish below Equatorial Guinea is surprising, unfathomable even. But to finish below Libya, given the vast gap in quality and wildly differing paths they travelled before meeting in Bata, is astonishing.” FourFourTwo

Kily keen to upset the odds for Equatorial Guinea against Ivory Coast
“Kily usually chugs up and down the right flank for the Spanish fourth-flight side Langreo. His chance of making it big in football seemed to have gone when Atlético Madrid released him – after 44 games for their B side – in 2008. But last week, he became the first hero of this year’s Cup of Nations as he arced a last-minute 25-yarder into the top corner to give Equatorial Guinea victory over Senegal, and take them through to Saturday’s quarter-final, in which they’ll meet Ivory Coast. Suddenly, he was a man in demand: there was talk of offers from teams in Russia and Saudi Arabia, while it’s safe to say that, barring something astonishing at the weekend, he will remain his adopted nation’s most celebrated player for some time.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson