Zambia go for broke against Gabon

Zambia have to beat high-flying Gabon here on Thursday to reach the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals.

Zambia are bottom of Group D with a point from two matches, but victory at the Ombaka Stadium could well take them to their first last-eight spot since 1996.

“On Thursday we play against Gabon and we must win,” said Zambia midfielder Isaac Chansa, who added that the team were unlucky to lose 3-2 to Cameroon on Sunday in their second Group D match.

Chansa’s must-win declaration comes on the heels of a controvery stirred by coach Herve Renard back in Zambia, when he said that the team are not welcome in their country and that they are more at home when they play away from Zambia.

“Zambians are not proud of Zambia,” Renard said.

He added: “When you are home, comments from Zambia are hard but from Europe and Africa they are happy. You have to be realistic and believe in yourselves because it is a long process building this team.”

Fans in Lubango cheered the team in their opening group match against Tunisia, which finished in a 1-1 draw.

“You know why they supported us?” he asked. “It is because we played some very good football in the first 30 minutes.”

Gabon are the in-form team in having lost out to Cameroon for a place at the World Cup.

They avenged their failure to reach South Africa in part when they beat Cameroon 1-0 in Lubango to get their Nations Cup campaign off to a fine start before they drew 0-0 with Tunisia.

As co-hosts of the next Nations Cup, Gabon are under pressure to post an impressive outing in Angola, and they have already proved that this is not a one-man band – Hull City’s Daniel Cousin and 10 others.

Midfielder Eric Moutouloungui, who plays with Nice in France, has been full of running and enterprise and could have grabbed at least two goals against Tunisia on Sunday, while Ebang Ovono has looked safe and assured in goal.

“We must work hard to win this match,” Le Mans goalkeeper Ovono told AFP at the team’s Hotel Tropicana in Lobito, about 30 kilometres from Benguela.

“Zambia are a good team and they were unlucky to lose through a late goal to Cameroon. We have to be at our best.

“It’s equally important that we start preparing our team for the 2012 Nations Cup, which we will host with Equatorial Guinea.”

“We have a good chance of winning a very difficult game against a good and young team. Victory will qualify us for the quarter-finals and further lift our confidence,” added skipper Cousin.

Angola 2010 is their fourth appearance at the Nations Cup and they recorded their best showing at the bi-ennial tournament 1996, when they reached the quarter-finals before they were sent packing on penalties by eventual finalists Tunisia after scores were tied at 1-1 even after extra-time.

Ovono added that the biggest asset for Gabon, with an average age of 26, is that most of the players have been together since the 2003 African Youth Championship in Burkina Faso.

“We are not like Cameroon, who have so many individual stars,” he added.

“Rather we play together as a team and that way it is often difficult to beat us.”

United Arab Emirates-based midfielder Cedric Moubamba is the team’s only injury worry and will face a late fitness test on Wednesday.