Quest for the quarterfinals

The crowd of teams travelling towards coronation as champions of Africa starts diminishing as the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations hits the quarterfinals stage this weekend.

Saturday pitches Zambia v Sudan, while Ivory Coast takes on Equatorial Guinea. On Sunday Gabon takes on Mali and Ghana play Tunisia.

ZAMBIA V SUDAN

This is a quarterfinal of two of the pleasant surprises of this Afcon edition. From a group that had title favourites Senegal, hosts Equatorial Guinea and Libya, the Zambians came off as top of the group in a rather emphatic manner. They are full of passion and team spirit, but to beat the Sudanese the Zambians have to keep their feet on the ground and be patient. It’s a 90-minute game and should they not stay focused and respect the Sudanese as they have done, they might be surprised by the Sudanese.

Sudan qualified second from a group that had clear title favourites, Cote D’ivoire. Incidentally they suffered their only defeat to them. They are a very promising team and don’t concede easily. To beat the Zambians, the Sudanese need to make the Zambians feel superior by leaving ball possession to them. The longer the game goes without a goal for Zambia, the more nervous they will be. Set plays like corners and free kicks have to be taken seriously and could be decisive.

Zambia should carry the day!

IVORY COAST V EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Game of nerves.

The title favourites and Africa’s best equipped team (on paper) take on the co-hosts Equatorial Guinea.

This is a mental test for the Ivorians! How the Ivorians will react to the euphoria and thunderous support that the home fans will set up behind their team is decisive. To beat the Guineans they need to impose their game but be very wary. Should the Guineans score first it might be difficult to break the spirit that could reign on them. Attack, but, be vigilant behind.

As for the Guineans, they should play this game with the mind-set that they have nothing to lose. Few saw them making it this far some days ago, but here they are in the quarterfinals, a nation of 700 000 people more or less. The longer the game goes scoreless, the stronger they should feel, since the Ivorians will start getting nervous. Beware of Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba.

I see Cote d’Ivoire coming out victorious.

GABON V MALI

Mali needs to be very vigilant defensively if they want to carry the day. To beat the Gabonese they need to control the game from the onset by intentionally making the Gabonese feel they are superior and hopefully come out blazing. Use their fan support as hosts against them.

To beat Mali, Gabon has to do what has brought them this far, play to win and believe in their “destiny”; that their time has come. Attacking in numbers and defending in numbers is key to outrun the Malians. They have a mental advantage and their game is a collective game. Their belief is key in this game.

Something tells me Gabon’s journey is not over.

GHANA V TUNISIA

This is the top billing of this quarterfinals 2012.

The elimination of erstwhile favourites Morocco from this year’s Afcon was started by Tunisia. This is a very talented team bursting with several ball jugglers. To beat the Ghanaians, the Tunisians have to add a little bit more direct play in their attacks towards the opponent’s goal. The objective should not be to outplay the Ghanaians but to outthink them by lesser ball possession but blistering counter attacks when the situation presents itself!

This is the first Real test of Ghana’s claim to being the best African team in this year’s Afcon. The good form of Ayew, coupled with the awakening of Asamoah Gyan, could not come at a better time. They need all the fireworks up front to carry the day.

To carry the day Ghana need to play like champions! They must dictate the pace of the game by taking over the midfield from outset and be quick to regroup behind once the ball is lost. That way the space is reduced for the Tunisian strikers.

Ghana should be in the semifinals.