Renard out to prove a point

Zambia’s Herve Renard will be out to prove a point to his former employers when Zambia take on Ghana in Bata tonight. It has been a long and arduous battle for both countries to come this far in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, which has been rocked by a number of upsets.

The Black Stars and the Chipolopolo clash in the last four of the tournament at the 35 000 capacity Estadio de Bata.

With four Nations Cup titles to their name, the Black Stars are bidding to reach a record ninth final, and second in succession.

Ghana have so far lived up to their pre-tournament favourites tag despite a few lapses in some of their games. The Black Stars outpaced the Zebras of Botswana in their 1-0 opening group game followed by a 2-0 win against the Eagles of Mali before drawing 1-1 against Guinea to top Group D.

Zambia, the underdogs of the tournament, made their intentions clear from the very first encounter when they beat Senegal 2-1, followed by Equatorial Guinea 1-0, and were held to a 2-2 draw by Libya as they finished on top of Group A.

Captain Christopher Katongo carried the team on his shoulders and in the most seamless of efforts they strolled to the semis, with a crowning glory being their 3-0 romping of Sudan in the last round.

Ghana will be playing their third successive semifinal in a row over the last three tournaments since 2008, and they have only conceded two goals in the tournament out of four games so far.

Zambia Coach, Hervé Renard has a personal score to settle with Ghana. He was assistant to then Ghana coach Claude Le Roy, during the 2008 Nations Cup when the Black Stars finished third.

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