11v11 blog

In something of an upset, Zambia beat the Ivory Coast to win the African Nations Cup with a team of players, most of whom play their domestic football in Zambia. It was a scintillating final marked by a number of missed chances including a missed penalty by Didier Drogba - and then decided on a penalty shoot-out which was finally won 8-7 by the Zambians.

For Zambia the whole tournament was about honouring those who had died in 1993, when the plane carrying the team to Senegal exploded following refuelling in Libreville, the venue for this final.

The game was played with passion, but despite the heightened emotions the players shook hands and played with mutual respect. The result is a testament to the players, to coach Herve Renard and perhaps most of all to Zambia's greatest ever player, Kalusha Bwalya, now president of the Zambian Football Federation, who was on that flight in 1993 and has now seen his faith in a young squad of players come to fruition.