| Goals | Goals |
|---|---|
| 11. Christopher Katongo (67’) |
Zambia win Group A
Javier Balboa of Equatorial Guinea and Rainford Kalaba of Zambia
A goal midway through the second half from Chipolopolo captain Chris Katongo was enough for the Southern Africans to claim a win that not only secures their place in the quarterfinals, but sees them leapfrog to the top of the standings.
The loss is a double blow for Nzalang Nacional: not only will they not be able to play in their stronghold of Bata in the next round, they will in all likelihood come up against tournament favourites Cote d’Ivoire.
The match got off to a cagey start and fans inside the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo had to wait until the 36th minute for the first genuine scoring chance, with Katongo shooting on target from a tight angle to force goalkeeper Danilo into a good low save.
Five minutes later Equatorial Guinea should have gone ahead. Daniel Ekedo played a deft pass that saw Ivan Bolado ghost past his marker to be faced with only the goalkeeper to beat, but Kennedy Mweene did well to close the angle quickly and block the attacker’s shot.
Overall, Zambia probably enjoyed the better of the first half, and the home side’s Danilo was the busier of the two goalkeepers, but neither defence was particularly troubled in keeping the score at 0-0 up to the interval.
Zambia were gifted a great chance to open the scoring early in the second half when Danilo handled a back-pass in his penalty area. Chipolopolo set up Hichani Himoonde to shoot on goal, but the ‘keeper redeemed himself with a good save.
The decisive moment of the match arrived in the 67th minute when Katongo moved inside from the left flank and was given enough time by the Equatorial Guinea defence to pick his spot – the result was a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Nzalang Nacional tried to come back into the game but there was to be no late heroics from the co-hosts this time around. Zambia held on comfortably for a deserved 1-0 win and will head into the quarterfinals full of confidence.
for real zambia will cum with the cup and wen God say yes its yes for real go zambia go
i believe in our team
surely it will
the cup iz cuming to zambia
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