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The Orange Africa Cup of Nations reaches the quarter-finals stage with Cameroon and Zambia being the last to qualify. Cameroon drew with Tunisia (2-2) while Zambia defeated Gabon (2-1) to earn both teams 4 points each and enough goal aggregate to give them advantage over Gabon who have the same number of points.

For the quarter-finals pairing, Cameroon, second in Group D, will face Group C leaders, Egypt, while Zambia come face to face with Nigeria, the Group C runners-up. The Egypt-Cameroon clash will be a repeat of the 2008 finals in Accra, Ghana, while the Zambia-Nigeria encounter reminds one of the 1994 final between the two in Tunisia. In those finals, it would be recalled, the Group C teams (the Pharaohs and the Super Eagles) emerged victorious. Will history repeat itself?

The first four teams to qualify for the quarter finals of the on-going Orange Africa Cup of Nations have emerged at the end of the last Group B match in which Ghana narrowly beat Burkina Faso 1-0. Organising country, Angola, tops Group A with 4 points and they will meet Group B runners-up Ghana while Group B leaders lock horns with Algeria who come second in Group A.

This, therefore, means that Mali, Malawi and Burkina Faso, in the absence of Togo, have exited from the tournament.

Group B sensation Azingo Nationale of Gabon earned a vital point in a 0-0 draw with Tunisia in the other match to brighten their chances of advances to the next stage of the competition.

Defending champions Egypt are on course to successfully defend the title they won two years ago by sailing smoothly unchallenged to the quarterfinals of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, beating Mozambique 2-0 in a second Group C clash at Benguela Stadium. The Pharaohs’ first goal came at the beginning of the second half through an own goal by Dario Khan while the second one was scored by Ahmed Fhati towards the end of the match.

In the first encounter of the day, struggling Super Eagles managed to pip Benin 1-0 through a spot kick converted by Yakubu Aiyegbeni in the 42^nd minute. Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the next round depend on their final match against Mozambique.

The Elephants of Ivory Coast rediscovered their winning ways when they humbled a youthful and inexperienced Ghana Black Stars 3-1 to become the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations.

Gervinho opened the score for the Elephants on 23 minutes from an expertly worked counter attack. The Ivorians scored two more goals through Siaka Tiene’s free kick in the 66^th minute and Drogba’s header at the stroke of full time. Ghana got a consolation goal in injury time through a spot kick converted by substitute Asamoah Gyan.

The Black Antelopes of Angola have given some assurance to their home fans that they mean business in the on-going Africa Cup of Nations when they silenced their Malawian counterparts 2-0 in the second Group A encounter in Luanda. Goals by Flavio and Manucho on 48 and 54 minutes respectively without reply ensured sweet victory for the organising country.

Earlier on, World Cup campaigners the Desert Foxes of Algeria restored their pride by handing a 1-0 defeat to Mali. The only goal of the match came from Rafik Halliche’s header just before the end of the first half.