Ivorian golden generation tipped to win

LIBREVILLE - Ivory Coast’s golden generation are one game away from their consecration as African football’s best team after progressing efficiently to Sunday’s African Nations Cup final, but must still get past dangerous Zambia.After several successive tournaments in which they failed to live up to predictions of glory, the Ivorians start as huge favourites to win the Nations Cup in Libreville.Zambia themselves exceeded expectations in reaching the final with a largely unknown squad, only one of whom plays at a European club.Their semifinal win over Ghana marked the second major scalp Zambia had taken at the tournament after an opening-day win over Senegal, another of the pre-tournament favourites.Ivory Coast’s cautious, sometimes uninspiring, approach has attracted criticism but the insistence on putting a priority on defence has paid dividends for coach Francois Zahoui.The Ivorians have yet to concede a goal in the tournament, co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and have won all five matches en route to the final.The performance contrasts with the disastrous defensive lapses that cost the country dearly in the last two tournaments which they had also been expected to win.They also possess a potent line-up of individual attacking talent, as striker Solomon Kalou emphasised after their semifinal win.