Group A in the Africa Cup of Nations is all over, and it’s not pre-tournament favourites Senegal who emerge from the fray in the lead. In fact, Senegal don’t emerge at all - they contrived to lose all three group games they played and leave the tournament with their collective tails between their legs on zero points. Instead, Zambia and co-hosts Equatorial Guinea are the team who’ve made it through, leaving Libya with Senegal on the outside looking in.
2012 Africa Cup Of Nations: Group A Ends With Zambia On Top, Eq. Guinea 2nd
Senegal’s fate had been decided before the last round of games, but the other three all had something to play for. Here’s how things went down on Group A’s final day.
Libya vs. Senegal
Libya needed a win combined with a Zambia loss to have any hope of finishing second in the Group, and hard work against a Senegal team that - despite a run of poor results - still has plenty of quality ensured that they held up their end of the bargain. Ihaab Boussefi got them off to a dream start when he slotted home a cutback from Ahmed Saad in the fifth minute, and although Deme N’Diaye replied immediately for Senegal with a header from a corner, Boussefi would give Libya the 2-1 win with a very late second goal, a spectacular volley that probably deserved to earn his team qualification. Unfortunately for Libya, thanks to results elsewhere, it did not, and they finished third with four points.
Equatorial Guinea vs. Zambia
A draw would seal up top spot for co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, but if they lost Zambia would instead take their spot. With qualification secure for both teams, as long as they drew, the match played out at a slow, even tedious pace. Apparently the threat of facing the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals wasn't enough to give Eq. Guinea the motivation to kill off Zambia, and they paid the price when Christopher Katongo scored midway through the second half to gift Zambia a 1-0 win - and top spot in Group A with seven points. Eq. Guinea finish second with six.
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