Zambia’s Chipolopolo Boys defeated Ivory Coast 1-0 on Friday night at the Levy Mwanawasa stadium in Ndola, securing their spot in Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup.
The Chipolopolo Boys made their intentions clear from the start, dominating play with five shots on goal and forcing Yahia Fofana to make four saves.
The decisive moment, however, came in the 43rd minute, when Kings Kangwa launched an onslaught that set up Joseph Sabobo Banda, who sweetly evaded a shot and cut into Kennedy Musonda to finish with his famous left-foot shot inside the 18 box.
The first half ended with Zambia in the lead and at the resumption of the second stanza, skipper of the day Kelvin Kampamba could not continue due to injury.
The Ivorians had their moments in the game, but Zambia came near again when Kangwa set up Clatous Chama, who missed from close range with just the goalkeeper to beat.
With only a minute of regular playing time remaining, the Elephants scored through Bayo Vakoun, but the second assistant referee called the goal offside.
The 2025 AFCON will kick off on December 21 to January 18, 2026 in Morocco.
Grant, Fae post-match reactions
Avram Grant regarded the triumph as the sweetest of his 51-year coaching career.
“After 51 years in my career this is one of the most enjoyable wins against a very good team, the champions of Africa with players from all over,” Grant said after the game.
“We played with a lot of difficulties, and I didn’t want to mention them before about the players that are not with us [due to injuries].”
Emerse Fae, Ivory Coast’s coach, said Zambia outperformed his team, especially given most of his players were coming from injuries.
“I am very very disappointed with the result. It’s true we had alot of injuries [heading into this game] but normally even with that, we are capable of beating Zambia. The result is not what we were expecting but it’s a game of football, Zambia played well and it’s normal for them to win the game today.”
He added, “Technically, today, we were not good and you can’t win the game if you are not technically good and thats what cost us the game.”
On Tuesday, Zambia will face Sierra Leone in a dead-rubber while Ivory Coast host Chad in their final group.
