KUMASI, GHANA (AFP) — It will be the battle of the outsiders in Group C of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations when Zambia and Sudan take to the pitch at the refurbished Baba Yara Stadium here Tuesday.
The top guns in this first round group are Egypt and Cameroon while Zambia and Sudan are only expected to make up the numbers. However, both countries have shown they can upset the form book after they topped their respective qualifying groups en route to Ghana.
Emotions ran wild throughout Sudan as hundreds of screaming and dancing fans received their national team after the Nile Crocodiles had beaten Seychelles 2-0 in Port Au Prince to earn qualification.
They would go on to win the group after subduing the highly-rated 2004 champions Tunisia in a five-goal thriller in Omdurman.
Sudan, a country that has been embroiled in civil wars since independence, won the Nations Cup in 1970 as host but last qualified for the competition in 1976.
Their qualification marked a glorious 2007 during which their clubs also upset the form book to feature prominently in the final stages of international competitions.
In the CAF Confederation Cup, Al Merreikh reached the final where they lost 5-2 on aggregate to CS Sfaxien of Tunisia while in the Champions League Al Hilal surprised everyone by reaching the last four.
Sudan FA boss Kamal Shaddad said they are delighted to again be part of the Nations Cup 32 years after their last appearance and as such will not be placing unrealistic targets for a side made up of players from the country's top two teams.
"All our players are based at home, they are not professionals as such and so do not have the experience most other African countries boast of. We are here to learn and gain some expereince," said Shaddad.
The records show they have only won three of their 14 encounters against Zambia, scoring 15 goals and letting in 21.
Like Sudan, the Zambians also have the potential to cause a stir with a youthful side in Ghana after reaching the tournament final in 1974 and 1994.
Zambia, then known as the KK XI, came close to winning the title at the 1974 edition in Cairo but they lost to former Zaire, arguably the best African side at the time.
Twenty years after the epic battle in Cairo, the southern Africans, less than a year after they lost a generation of their players in a tragic air crash, were again in the final of the competition in Tunisia and they were again unlucky to clash with a fabulous Nigerian side.
In Ghana, coach Patrick Phiri will be relying on a squad of talented players led by Brondby striker Christopher Katongo, who fired home four goals including a memorable hat-trick against South Africa in Cape Town on the last day of the qualifiers to clinch top spot in Group 11.
Nicknamed "Tsunami" for his robust play, Katongo, a sergeant in the Zambian army, debuted for his country in a friendly incidentally against Sudan five years ago.
He is expected to be complimented by another prolific striker, Collins Mbesuma. A former South African Footballer of the Year after he scored a record 35 goals for Kaizer Chiefs in 2005, Mbesuma now plies his trade in Turkey for Bursaspor FC after he could not tie down a place at Portsmouth.
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