AFP

Zambia's national team in training ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast.

Last month in the aftermath of Zambia’s draw with a Bafana Bafana ‘C’ side at Rand Stadium, Herve Renard seemed to lose his cool.

He was asked by a Zambian journalist if the 1-1 result was an indication of what could be expected of the Chipolopolo and, evidently irritated, Renard fired back: “Our first match is only in 10 days, and we will be ready.”

It was a casual dismissal of what seemed a fairly legitimate query from a journalist unconvinced by what he had seen from Renard’s charges, when they didn’t play very well against a sub-standard side.

But as they sit on the cusp of history now that they have defied the odds and qualified for sunday’s final, Zambia – and in particular their coach Renard and Kalusha Bwalya, their legend – must feel extremely proud of their achievement.

Few gave them a chance to emerge out of a tough group comprising co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Libya, yet they topped it, just as Renard had forewarned during his team’s preparations in Johannesburg.

“We always qualify,” the Frenchman said then. “Yet people never talk about us. Maybe that helps us, too. In Angola (in 2010) we finished top of our group ahead of Cameroon. Now people are talking about Senegal, but we are confident that we will qualify.”

Not only did Zambia win their group, beating Senegal in their first match to send the favourites on a disastrous downward trail out of the tournament, they have also reached their third final.

They have achieved that with a modest but highly talented squad containing eight players plying their trade on these shores, and several others who’ve graced our stadiums and pitches.

Sunday’s final comes 18 years after Zambia last reached this stage, at Nigeria 1994, and that it is taking place in Libreville is all the more poignant for the Chipolopolo, whose team perished tragically in an air crash along the coast line of the Gabonese capital city.

Bwalya led the current bunch to the crash site on Thursday, when wreaths were laid and tears flowed. I suspect Renard will not have to do a lot of motivational talk in the dressing-room on Sunday.

But as against Nigeria in ’94, Zambia are overwhelming underdogs against an Ivory Coast side who haven’t conceded all tournament. However, that doesn’t mean a shock, similar to the one seen when they vanquished Ghana in the semi-finals, is impossible.

While all nations in southern Africa should unreservedly back Zambia on Sunday, their progress in this year’s tournament is yet another serious indictment of the domestic game, a reminder of the failure that is Bafana Bafana.

Of course, the Chipolopolo were always going to draw plaudits, but it was without even a smattering of irony that the Premier Soccer League sent out a statement congratulating them a day after they sent Ghana packing.

“The fact that it has been current and former PSL players contributing to the success of the Zambian team indicates the strength and the high standard of football in the PSL,” chief executive Stan Matthews was quoted as saying in the statement. “This suggests without (a) doubt that the PSL is a springboard for international and continental stardom and we must celebrate this.”

So while our beloved Bafana are kicking their heels at home, their club teammates from elsewhere in southern Africa are leading their national sides to the Cup of Nations final, and we are told by the league to “celebrate”.

To suggest, as Matthews does, that the “PSL is a springboard for international and con-tinental stardom” is nothing but hyperbole. The reason why Zambia did so well is that they have better, more determined players than this Bafana lot, most of whom play in the domestic league. As Zambia fret about whether they can lift their first Cup of Nations title, we worry if we’ll ever qualify for another tournament.

*You can follow Matshe on Twitter @Nkareng