Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinals Set

After slow starts to their respective 2010 Africa Cup of Nations campaigns, the five World Cup qualifiers from Africa participating in the tournament (South Africa, the sixth CAF nation in the World Cup, failed to qualify for the 2010 ACN) have each secured a spot in the tournament quarterfinals. Joining Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Algeria in the knockout stages are Zambia, two-time defending champs Egypt, and hosts Angola.

The first pair of quarterfinal matches will take place on Sunday, with Angola taking on Ghana and Group B winners Cote d'Ivoire squaring off against Algeria. Though the hosts will surely have their work cut out for them against the Black Stars, they will be buoyed by the raucous support from Angolan fans at Estadio 11 de Novembro in Luanda, which has been one of the highlights of the tournament. Both sides have had some ups and downs in this tournament, and the result really could go either way depending on which teams show up come Sunday. Angola showed some impressive offensive spark against Mali, but then showed a lack of mental fortitude, as they let a four goal lead slip away in the final 15 minutes. Ghana, meanwhile, were completely outplayed in their opener against Cote d'Ivoire, but put in a much better performance to secure a victory over a solid Burkina Faso side. With the variability in both teams' performances and what surely will be an electric atmosphere, this should be a great game to watch.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Didier Drogba and company will take on Algeria, who secured a spot in the quarterfinals after a 0-0 draw with Angola that led to accusations of collusion from Group A opponents Mali. This match will be the last played in Cabinda (which, thankfully, have gone off without another incident), where the tragic attack on the Togolese camp occurred. Like Angola and Ghana, Algeria has struggled with consistency thus far, getting blown out by lowly Malawi before earning a good result against Mali. Cote d'Ivoire, meanwhile, turned in arguably the most impressive performance of the tournament, dominating Ghana for a 3-1 that was even more impressive given the fact that the Elephants added two more goals to their halftime lead after defender Emmanuel Eboue was sent off in the 55th minute. Cote d'Ivoire look poised to reach the semifinals for the third consecutive edition of the ACN, and manager Vahid Halilhodzic has strong ambitions of taking the continental title back to the West African nation for the first time since 1992.

On Monday, the rest of the final eight will finish off the round, with the surprise of the tournament, Zambia, looking to add another chapter to the story by toppling the Super Eagles of Nigeria. In a wide open Group D, Zambia turned in three quality efforts, earning a draw against perennial African powers Tunisia and nearly upsetting Samuel Eto'o and Cameroon before dropping the points late in the match. Herve Renard's side was unlucky not to take at least a point from that match, but they rebounded nicely to defeat a tough Gabon side earlier today, vaulting them to the top of the table. They will look to continue their solid run of form against Nigeria, who have gotten stronger as the tournament has gone on. After an ugly 3-1 loss to Egypt in their opener, the Super Eagles defeated Benin by a score of 1-0 and then secured a berth in the next round with a convincing 3-0 victory over Mozambique. Nigeria's group was probably the weakest of the four, however, and they struggled mightily in their only real test, so an on-form team like Zambia could very well cause heaps of trouble for the West Africans.

Last, but not least, Egypt and Cameroon will meet in Benguela. Egypt always seem to save their best for the continental championship, and this year seems no different. They controlled all three of their group stage matches en route to three comfortable victories, and they will pose a significant challenge for Cameroon on Monday. The Indomitable Lions have struggled early on, conceding a goal in the first 20 minutes of each of their three matches. If they want to knock off the defending champions, they will have to tighten things up at the back and break down a Pharaohs defense that surrendered just one goal in the group stage.

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Predictions:

Ghana over Angola
Zambia over Nigeria
Cote d'Ivoire over Algeria
Egypt over Cameroon

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Be sure to tune in and see how things turn out this weekend!