Zambia ready to shoot desert hawks

ZAMBIA will this evening be hoping to match into the semi-finals for the first since 1996 when the Chipolopolo clash with Sudan in the first quarter-final of the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the Estadio de Bata here. Reaching the last four was Coach Herve Renard’s minimum target he set for himself having taken the Chipolopolo to the quarter-finals two years ago in Angola after a 14-year lull. While Zambia are aiming for the first last four finish in 16 years, the last time Sudan reached the knock stage was in 1970 when they were the eventual winners. Sudan had not scored a goal at the AFCON for 36-years and it had to take a relatively unknown Mohamed Ahmed Bashir to break that seemingly ‘curse’ in their 2-2 draw against Angola in the group stage. The last time the two teams met at the AFCON four years ago in Ghana, Zambia romped to a 3-0 win over the Sudanese with Felix Katongo and James Chamanga, who are still part of the Chipolopolo squad, hitting the target. But Renard believes the current crop of the Chipolopolo squad has been consistent and efficient at the 28th AFCON edition and should be able to reach the semi-final.

”Everything is perfect at the moment and the most important thing for us now is to qualify to the semi-finals,” he said. Despite lacking vast international experience, Sudan has shown signs of great mental strength and fighting spirit and Renard is alive to this fact. ”Sudan deserves to be at the Nations Cup. They are not here by chance so we have to be careful. We will die a little to get the qualification,” he said. Sudan coach Mohamed ‘Mazda’ Abdallah, who relies on his local-based players mostly from Al Hilal and Al Merreikh, is wary of the threat posed by Zambia and emphasized on the need for his team to prepare tactically and physically for the match. "Zambia are a fast, well-organised team which has achieved good results here and we must prepare tactically and physically for them," Abdallah said. Zambia’s dream here is to win the AFCON trophy in Libreville, Gabon where the class of 1993 perished while on national duty and Renard believes it will be a great honour to the deceased heroes. Firstly to get past these stubborn Desert Hawks and book a semi-final ticket, Renard will require striker Emmanuel Mayuka, skipper Christopher Katongo and playmaker Rainford Kalaba to show the same vigor that saw Zambia win Group A ahead of co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, Libya and the overrated Senegal. Mayuka and Katongo have each rattled the net twice in the three group matches while Kalaba has scored once. It is however yet to be seen if Renard will give Jonas Sakuwaha, the most feared goal-poacher in the Sudanese league, a chance to play. With experienced defender Chintu Kampamba, who is yet to feature here, ruled out of the tournament because of a tendon injury, the Zambian backline anchored on veteran Joseph Musonda, Hichani Himoonde, Stoppila Sunzu and Davies Nkausu need to be at their best to thwart any Sudanese threats. Mudathir Eltaib Ibrahim, who hit a brace in Sudan’s 2-1 win over Burkina Faso and Bashir, whose brace against Angola gave Sudan a 2-2 draw, hold the key in Abdallah’s relatively youthful side. While this game is seemingly looking like a thriller, the local Equatoria Guinea fans believe Zambia will easily knock out the Desert Hawks. The winner between Zambia and Sudan will face the victor of the Ghana versus Tunisia quarter-final encounter in next Tuesday’s semi-final here. Others here are already predicting a Gabon versus Zambia final match in Libreville on February 12. Probable line-ups: Zambia – Kennedy Mweene, Davies Nkausu, Joseph Musonda, Hichani Himoonde, Stoppila Sunzu, Isaac Chansa, Christopher Katongo, Nathan Sinkala, Emmanuel Mayuka, Rainford Kalaba, Chisamba Lungu. Sudan - Akram Elhadi Salim, Muawia Bashir Koko , Abdelgabar Nagm Eldin Abdalla, Ala Eldin Yousif Hado, Hitham Mostfa Karar , Saif Eldin Ali Idris , Mohamed Tahir Osman , Khalifa Ahmed Mohamed , Mudathir Eltaib Ibrahim, Mohamed Ahmed Bashir , Nazar Hamid Nassir .