Ivory Coast's golden generation is one game away from its consecration as African football's best team after progressing efficiently to Sunday's African Nations Cup final, but must still get past dangerous Zambia. After several successive tournaments in which it failed to live up to forecasts of glory, the Ivorians start as huge favorites to win the Nations Cup in Libreville. Zambia itself exceeded expectations in reaching the final with a largely unknown squad, only one of whom plays at a European club. Its semifinal win over Ghana marked the second major scalp Zambia had taken at the tournament after an opening-day win over Senegal, another of the pre-tournament favorites. Ivory Coast's cautious, sometimes uninspiring, approach has attracted criticism but the insistence on putting a priority on defense has paid dividends for coach Francois Zahoui. The Ivorians have yet to concede a goal in the tournament, co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and have won all five matches en route to the final. The performance contrasts with the disastrous defensive lapses that cost the country dearly in the last two tournaments which they had also been expected to win. They also possess a potent lineup of individual attacking talent, as striker Solomon Kalou emphasized after its semifinal win. “We are better organized than before and we have players who can score at any moment — Gervinho, Didier Drogba, myself. We can all make a difference,” he told reporters. “It's been a long wait to get back to the final,” added Kolo Toure, one of eight players from the team that lost on penalties to Egypt in the final six years ago. “We now need to use this experience to win. It will mean so much to our country.” Zambia had emerged “from under the radar” said coach Herve Renard, who has shown clever tactical planning at key moments in the tournament. “We have to take this cup, this is an opportunity,” added captain Chris Katongo. “This is the greatest moment ever a player can have to play in the final. It doesn't come every day.”
