The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final was a football match that took place on 12 February 2012 between

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. The match took place at the Stade d'Angondjé in Libreville,

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

to determine the winner of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This stadium is located near the spot where most of the Zambian national team died when their aeroplane crashed in 1993. The kickoff time was delayed by 30 minutes to 20:30. Zambia won the title for the first time by beating Ivory Coast 8–7 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after the only goalless draw the entire tournament.

Background

This was the third appearance in the final for

; the "Copper Bullets" lost in 1974 and 1994. After a surprising start and a win over

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, they drew with

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

before winning the deciding match against the host Equatorial Guinea and winning the group. In the quarterfinals they won 3–0 against Sudan and shocked

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

as they defeated them 1–0 in the semifinals. Both Christopher Katongo and Emmanuel Mayuka scored three goals in the first five matches to help Zambia to reach the final. The match was an emotional one for Zambia, as the stadium in Libreville was just kilometres away from the site of the 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster, in which 18 players were killed.

also appeared in their third final. They won it in 1992 and lost in 2006. The "Elephants" had gone through the tournament so far without conceding a goal and winning all of their matches. It started with a victory against Sudan, followed by two wins against

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, the latter one without some of the best players. The quarterfinal was won against co-host Equatorial Guinea, before

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

was beaten 1–0. Didier Drogba joins Katongo and Mayuka with three goals himself at the top of the goalscorers.

Route to the final

Match details

Details

Assistant referees:
Bechir Hassani (

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

)
Evarist Menkouande (

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

)

Fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the L ...

:
Eddy Maillet (

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

)

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Africa Cup of Nations, 2012

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final 2012 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final 2012

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Sports competitions in Libreville 21st century in Libreville February 2012 sports events in Africa