Ghana Vs. Zambia, 2012 Africa Cup Of Nations Semifinal: Zambia Stun Black Stars

The underdogs weren’t entirely on the back foot during the first half - Rainford Kalaba ripped open the Ghanaian defence on a rare foray forward by Zambia, only for Christopher Katongo to shank a first-time shot wide of Adam Larsen’s right-hand post, but Ghana certainly had the better of play. That story continued in the second, with chance after chance wasted by the Black Stars, and they were finally made to pay in the 77th minute.

Ghana remain co-favorites to win the Africa Cup of Nations and favorites to defeat Zambia on Wednesday evening, but they hardly look like an invincible side. The Black Stars did not look great in their group stage matches against Guinea and Botswana, and they needed extra time to get by Tunisia in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Zambia won their quarterfinal match comfortably against Sudan.

While Zambia certainly don’t have the big names and depth that Ghana have, they appear to actually possess a bit more firepower. Asamoah Gyan has not been a star thus far in this tournament, while Christopher Katongo and Emmanuel Mayuka have both been impressive. Ghana central defender John Mensah is battling injury and is not expected to be fit for this match, leaving two of the three of Jonathan, Isaac Vorsah and John Boye to deal with Zambia’s impressive strikers.