Nigeria v Zambia, 10 April 1994
| Score | 2-1 to Nigeria |
| Referee | LK Chong |
| Competition | Africa Cup of Nations Final |
| Venue | TUNIS |
| Attendance | 30,000 |
Zambia 1994 CAN Final:
Twenty two year ago this week, Zambia played in the finals of the Tunisia Africa Cup of Nations tournament against Nigeria. Almost 12 months prior to the game, Zambia had lost the entire national team in a plane crush of the cost of Gabon. As SKG 11 put it  below, this team led by Kalusha Bwalya made the entire nation believe again.
Alexander Liwana,RSA / Ace
Zambia drew the first game against Sierra Leone nil nil and we beat Senegal 1-0 in the quarter-finals thanks to Evans Sakala’s spectacular long range strike (although others called speculative) and then thrashed Mali 4-0 in the semi-final (Litana, Saileti, Kalu, Bubble).We were a bit fearful of the Malians after they knocked out the hosts Tunisia 2-0 and forked out Egypt in the quarterfinals. In the end, we needn’t have worried as it was a walk in the park.
In the finals Zambia went down to Nigeria by 2 goals to 1 in a match Zambia completely dominated in the last 13 minutes with Kalu turning the Nigerian defence upside down and he even hit the crossbar.
SKG 11
What a game this was. Kalusha hit the bar from way way out and Nigeria were all at sea in the first half. Sadly , it was not too be… Remember one of the best goal keepers with a quiet and unassuming manner- James Phiri- was outstanding … God bless that 1994 unit!!! Helped wash away the tears and helped us all believe again!!!
Zambia XI v Nigeria
James Phiri – Mordon Malitoli, Aggrey Chiyangi, Harrison Chongo, Elijah Litana, Kapambwe Mulenga (Linos Makwaza), Evansa Sakala, Joel Bwalya (Johnson Bwalya), Zeddy Saileti, Kalusha Bwalya
Zambia Coach: Ian Potterfield
Nigeris XI v Zambia
Peter Rufai – Augustine Eguavoen, Benedict Iroha, Uchenna Okafor, Uche Okechukwu, Emmanuel Amunike, Jay Jay Okocha (Nduka Ugbade), Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George (Samson Siasia), Daniel Amokachi, Rachidi Yekini
In the photo Great Kalu beats Uche Okechukwu (5) and Augustine Eguavoen (2) as Jay Jay Okocha (10) trails behind.
The real super eagles…the beginning of the chipolopolo
Awesome game, awesome tournament. Wish we had won, but the sentiment is absolutely true. This tournament made us believe again, and it helped us get over the loss of the entire team.
Ba Zamfoot. Can you do an segment called “where are they now?”
It would focus on former footballers and what they are doing now.
Curious about guys like Elijah Litana, Joel Bwalya, Kenneth Malitoli, Johnson Bwalya…etc
Good idea positive thinking
Leaders are born in a crisis,Thats when i really believed that great Kalu was a leader in helping us wipe our tears.A grieving nation reaching the AFCON cup final was a miracle.Also I admired Simata Simata as the then FAZ President.Simata also provided leadership. God bless Zambia!
Thanks Zamfoot for the like/thumbs up!!!!
One more thing- Thanks for the picture Zamfoot – – looking back at the names : Jay jay Yekini, Finidi don’t forget Keshi – that was a top Nigerian outfit- I don’t think they have come close since then – so that Kalushya – its like the old adage a pic is woth a 1000 words- the words won’t do justice to the brilliance.
Thanks for the memories.
who was the coach by then?
Tom, it was Ian Porterfield. After the 93 crash Zambia had Fred Mwila as the coach, but Danish government offered up Roald Paulsen and the British also offered up Ian Porterfield. In the end, Ian Porterfield took the helm of the team and led Zambia through the AFCON qualifiers and eventually AFCON. Unfortunately he left Zambia after getting us to the final and went to Saudi Arabia. He later passed away in England. He did an amazing job with Zambia, especially given the circumstances under which he took over.