Chingola , Zambia ( CNN ) -- It 's 10 minutes after the final whistle has blown but still no one knows whether their efforts have been in vain . The Libyan national soccer team sit in the dressing room at the Nchanga Stadium -- in Chingola , a small copper mining town on the Zambia-Congo border -- quietly waiting for news amidst the fog of sweat and redolence of rubefacient muscle rub . The team has just drawn 0-0 with Zambia in their final qualification match for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations , a qualification campaign that began with the country under the rule of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi , continued through the civil war and ended before the death of the former notorious leader . Victory was needed to be sure of progression to next January 's tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon . A draw meant that results elsewhere had to go their way . As their campaign for Africa 's biennial continental championship progressed with war as the backdrop , some players declared the team was behind Gadhafi . Others left the team to go and fight on the front line with the rebels . In unison , somehow , they qualified ; news that will shortly be relayed to the team when confirmation of results from other matches are circulated . Six days earlier coach Marcos Paqueta is in good spirits in the lobby of his hotel in Tunis . The security situation is such that the team could not train in Tripoli . The Brazilian coach once famously won the under 17s and under 20s World Cups in the same year for his homeland , but signed for Libya in June 2010 when the Libyan Football Federation was run by one of Gadhafi 's sons , Mohamed . `` When I was there the first time I contacted only the federation , then one time I have one meeting with Dr Mohamed , '' Paqueta explains of his dealings with the Gadhafi regime . `` He was happy because of the project I made for the national team and Libyan football . I focus only on sports . At that time you do n't know about the country . '' In the past , the Gadhafi family 's dealings with soccer and its players had been much more hands on . His son Saadi played for Al Ahly Tripoli and installed himself as captain of the national team . The team plummeted to 186th on FIFA 's rankings . But they also used soccer as a political tool . In 2000 Saadi 's Al Ahly Tripoli traveled to Al Ahly Benghazi for a league match . Benghazi had long been associated with Libya 's opposition and the team 's fans paraded a donkey wearing Saadi 's shirt . `` It is a bad story , not a funny story , '' says 29-year-old defensive midfielder Moataz Ben Amer , the current captain of Al Ahly Benghazi . `` The first half , Tripoli are winning . But the referee is no good . So Ahly Benghazi goes to the airport [ in protest ] . Saadi Gadhafi turned up with his dogs and the police and said : 'If you do n't play the second half , we will kick you ' . '' Unsurprisingly , the players returned to play the second half , and lost 3-0 . Colonel Gadhafi was so incensed that he ordered Al Ahly Benghazi 's training ground to be destroyed . The club was also banned from domestic competition for five years . When Interpol released a `` Red Notice '' for Saadi Gadhafi in September , the allegations given were `` misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation . '' Paqueta 's early results were encouraging . Libya beat Zambia , one of Africa 's best teams , in Tripoli . But then in February civil war broke out , dividing the players . After Libya had beaten the Comoros Islands in March the team 's former captain , 34-year-old Tariq Taib , declared that the players were 100 per cent behind Gadhafi . He even labeled the rebels `` rats and dogs . '' Walid el Kahatroushi disagreed . The 27-year-old midfielder scored in that game but when the team gathered again in June , he decided to leave the camp and fight for the rebels when he heard a friend had been injured in the violence . `` Some people come to me and told me one of my dear friends was in the hospital and lost his arm ... in that moment I decided to leave the camp and join the front line ... in Jebel Nafousa , '' explains Kahatroushi . Life on the front line was hard . Friends would shield him from worst of the fighting until , in the end , he felt he had no choice . `` When I was there I was just about forgetting about football because the most important thing then is how to secure your life and secure the life of your friends . If it was about me I would never come back , you would never find me here playing football . But ... my friends on the front line told me : 'This is your future , you must go there . This is also like a war for you ' . '' Others left for the front line too , like goalkeeper Guma Mousa , but not all were so lucky . Ahmed Alsagir was shot in the shoulder and spent a month in hospital before returning to the front line . By the end of August Gadhafi had been toppled . A week later the team had to play their penultimate qualifier against Mozambique behind closed doors in Egypt . Aside from the trouble of getting the players out of the country , there were some more practical concerns . For one , Paqueta had to hold a clear the air meeting with the squad . The old pro-Gaddafi players were nowhere to be seen . A new kit had to be designed , with the rebel 's flag stitched on to it . The Libyans fought out a 0-0 draw . `` The last game [ against ] Mozambique , it had a big impact on the people in Libya . Everyone was happy and everyone was talking about us , '' recalls Kahatroushi . `` We will do everything to qualify , Inshallah , because this will help our country too much . At least to bring them some happiness after all the sadness they have been through . '' The journey south to Zambia took almost 24 hours , but the players are ready when they take to the pitch at the packed Nchanga Stadium . Libya 's new captain , 39-year-old goalkeeper Samir Abod is the hero , making three world class saves . The match finishes 0-0 . Some of the players collapse on the floor in tears . Others pray before returning to the dressing room . They wait . The quiet is broken when one of the coaches bursts in and breathlessly delivers the news . The blue-painted room erupts in celebration and song . The rebel national anthem is sung as the new flag is held aloft in the center of the melee . Ghana 's victory and a last-minute equalizer for Guinea against Nigeria means that Libya has , against the odds , qualified for the Nations Cup . As a nation recovers thousands of miles away from the ravages of civil war under the new interim government , Walid Kahatroushi leads the celebrations and the chants . `` The blood of the dead , '' they sing , `` will not be spilt in vain . ''
CNN travels with the Libyan national soccer team to Zambia . The team 's campaign to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations coincided with Libya 's civil war . TL;DR A new report says that U.S. officials have been warned about a possible attack on American diplomatic facilities in Libya. The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the biggest tournaments in world football .