Rainford Kalaba says he will not be intimidated on the pitch when Zambia and Ghana meet in Wednesday’s Africa Nations Cup semifinal in Bata.

Kalaba has had an outstanding Africa Cup so far winning two man-of-the-match awards in the 360 minutes of action he has featured for Zambia at the Africa Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

"I think I am very well prepared for this tournament," Zambia's diminutive midfielder said.

"I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for me. I got a lot of encouragement from the coach to get myself well prepared for this tournament.

"To reach this level, I believe I am able to compete with any opponent I meet."

And Kalaba said Zambia should not be written off by Ghanaians ahead of Wednesday’s game.

"To reach this level we are ready to compete with any team," Kalaba said.

"Even Ghana, it wasn’t easy for them to reach semifinals. Football is not played in the papers, it is played on the pitch; 11 against 11 and the final whistle will tell the final story."