We look at how the four latest teams to depart the Africa Cup of Nations performed and their prospects of heading to Angola 2010 and the World Cup in South Africa around six months later.

Nigeria (lost 2-1 to Ghana)

Manager Berti Vogts has been the most under-fire boss of any at this Cup of Nations and is the key to Nigeria’s next step.

Sunday Oliseh is already putting pressure on for the job according to the BBC, while Nigeria’s ruthless press were highly critical of German Vogts both during and after the tournament.

So much so that his dark past as manager of Scotland rated a frequent mention as the Super Eagle scribes bemoaned his alleged destruction of a talented line-up.

Opening the tournament with two scoreless games meant Nigeria never really had the right combination up front.

After scraping past Benin they still lacked the cutting edge up forward after John Mensah was sent off for Ghana and Nigeria held the man advantage.

Whether a new manager decides to discard the veteran names in the team could shape Nigeria’s future.

World Cup qualification prospects:

Nigeria should stroll through to the second group stage of qualifying as it is paired with South Africa in group 4.

It means the Super Eagles only need to beat Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone to ensure progression to the next stage of qualifying.

However the group should not be taken lightly – the immediate step up in difficulty in the four-team, only-top qualifies second stage will pit Nigeria against the big guns.

With a team unity rebuilt, Nigeria easily has the talent to qualify for the World Cup, but leadership and a clear strategy is needed at the top.

Guinea (lost 5-0 to Ivory Coast)

Guinea’s embarrassing exit from the Cup of Nations will overshadow its fighting performance against Ghana and win over Morocco.

Pascal Feindouno is essential to any hope Guinea has of scoring goals and the rest of the team showed no indication that the skipper is anything other than a once-in-a-generation player.

While Ivory Coast was expected to win comfortably, the worst result for Guinea was arguably the draw with Namibia.

World Cup qualification prospects:

If anything because of the momentum it will give Namibia ahead of playing the Guineans again in World Cup and African Nations qualifying for 2010.

Guinea is pitted against Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya in a group looking destined for evenness.

As only eight of the 11 best second-placed teams go through, Guinea may well need to win the group to see the next group stage.

Guinea starts at home to Zimbabwe and is away to Kenya a week later.

Make it through this group and Guinea will do well to finish in the top three of the next stage of qualifying and go to Angola in 2010.

Don’t consider them any chance to make it to South Africa.

Angola (lost 2-1 to Egypt)

Angola was the statistical surprise packet of the tournament but will still feel unlucky to have gone home at the quarter-final stage.

The Palancas Negras had never won a game in Cup of Nations competition or made the knock-out stages, so in many ways this was a tournament of achievement.

But the team on the park has every right to leave disappointed and feeling it could have gone further.

Manucho was the stand-out for Angola, with him in this form at the 2006 World Cup Angola could well have made it out of their group.

Now his high-profile move to Manchester United (via Panathinaikos initially) could be the development he needs to become world class.

World Cup qualification prospects:

Angola is automatically qualified to host the 2010 Cup of Nations as host, but unlike Egypt in 2006 will want a World Cup to look forward too as well.

Getting there should not prove too difficult for Angola provided its organised defence sees off Uganda, Niger and Benin in the first group stage.

How close it goes to the elusive top spot (of four) at the next stage of qualifying to get a spot in South Africa depends largely on how much improvement is left in Manucho.

The better he gets, the more attention he will command to free up the likes of Flavio and Ze Kalanga – the players that along with Akwa got Angola to Germany 2006 – in order to provide multiple goal-scoring threats.

Tunisia (lost 3-2 to Cameroon)

The writing was on the wall for Tunisia after it scraped qualification for Ghana after losing to Sudan.

Improve the backline or face more embarrassment and frustration with the leaking of goals.

Sure enough, the Tunisians could not clamp down on Senegal, let in a soft consolation against South Africa and blew all the momentum it took into extra-time as Cameroon scored against the run of play.

Roger Lemerre has spent what is considered a lifetime at one African team (six years) with Tunisia, and the Frenchman may have reached the end of his tether.

But while speculation over his future remains dormant, how he rebuilds his backline with or without Radhi Jaidi will be the key to the Carthage Eagles’ future.

World Cup qualification prospects:

Tunisia’s fantastic record of qualifying for World Cups may at last be in jeopardy as the stakes are raised for South Africa 2010.

Burkina Faso, Burundi and Seychelles will not provide any stern opposition in the first group stage, but the second group stage will have the Tunisians scrambling.

Sort the groups geographically and the Tunisians will likely be facing familiar rivals Morocco and Algeria in order to qualify.

But if the groups are drawn randomly then a poor record away from home against the bigger nations of central Africa may prove Tunisia’s downfall.

Cameroon needed extra-time to close out a 3-2 win over Tunisia and book a Cup of Nations semi-final berth against Ghana in Tamale this evening.

A Stephane Mbia double started and finished the scoring in an absorbing contest where both sides tussled for the momentum.

Cameroon appeared to have blown a 2-0 lead as Yassine Chikhaoui put Tunisia on level terms with nine minutes of regular time remaining, but just two minutes into extra-time the Indomitable Lions found the match-winner.  

Tunisia's lapse-prone defence was caught flat-footed for Mbia's second strike as the Cameroonian swept home two flick-ons from a long throw.

Despite a host of half-chances in the remaining 28 minutes, the Carthage Eagles could not find a way through and force a penalty shoot-out.

Mbia opened the scoring on 19 minutes for Cameroon with a bundled header after arriving unmarked at the back post to nod home an Alexandre Song cross.

Geremi then doubled the advantage with a low free kick to the left of the goal, out of reach for Tunisian keeper Hamdi Kasraoui.

But Tunisia replied in the 35th minute with Chouki Ben Saada perfectly placing a set-piece of his own into Carlos Idriss Kameni's net.

It could so easily have been scores level at half-time as Kameni was forced to save a follow-up shot after Francileudo Dos Santos hit the post.

As the second half drew on Tunisia played more and more on top of Cameroon and made the momentum count with Chikhaoui's equaliser.

The tall striker put in a neat finish after embattled Cameroonian defender Timothee Atouba was caught in possession.

But a furious Rigobert Song managed to hold together his backline after Mbia's go-ahead goal, the captain and Cameroon players now with the even bigger challenge of Ghana in the semi-final.

A scoreless draw between Tunisia and Angola was enough to advance both teams to the quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations tonight.

Despite South Africa and Senegal playing the more entertaining game of the night in a 1-1 draw the result was left irrelevant to Group D.

Tunisia now plays Cameroon in the quarter-final round while Angola will face Egypt.

At the Baba Yara stadium it would have needed a lop-sided vicotry for either South Africa or Senegal to keep the door open for progression.

But despite doing almost all the attacking it was South Africa's unreliable defence and poor finishing that continued to cost it dearly.

Elrio Van Heerden opened the scoring on 13 minutes for Bafana Bafana but the backline was caught cold 20 minutes later by Senegal's all-time top scorer Henri Camara.

In the second half South Africa laid seige to the Senegal goal but Bouna Coundoul, deputising for Tony Sylva, produced a string of inspired saves on the occasions the ball was on target.

Any chance South Africa had of grabbing a consolation victory was torched as both Thembinkosi Fanteni and Siphiwe Tshabalala put shots wide in the latter stages.

Coach Carlos Alberto Pareira has insisted this Cup of Nations tournament was preparation for the 2010 World Cup for his team, and after collecting two points from three games his side has plenty to work on.

Senegal on the other hand were described by commentators as having reached the "end of an era" in which it could be considered one of the big teams of African football.

Tunisia annihilated South Africa in the first half to cruise to a 3-1 win in Tamale this evening and all but book a spot in the knock-out stages.

 

South Africa must produce a goal-laden performance against Senegal to progress to the next round while Tunisia needs only a draw against Angola.

 

A diving header in the eighth minute from Francileudo Dos Santos opened the scoring for the Carthage Eagles while his second goal sent Tunisia in 3-0 up at the break.

 

In between Dos Santos’ goals Chouki Ben Saada was on hand to knock in a shot from the Brazilian-born striker that rebounded off the post.

 

Dos Santos’ opener came with a header diving away from goal and deflected in after a cross from the right flank.

 

His second goal was considerably easier after he ran onto a shallow back-pass from Nasief Morris in the 31^st minute and rounded goalkeeper Moneeb Josephs to tap in.

 

Morris attempted to amend his error in the 37^th minute running through a pack to put a header on a bouncing ball but his effort clipped the bar before going over

 

Dos Santos should have completed his hat-trick in the second half but fell over trying to tap the ball in from less than a meter out in the 65^th minute.

 

He was substituted shortly after having missed the opportunity to net his 11^th goal in African Cup of Nations competition.

 

South Africa enjoyed some spells of possession in a slow second half but couldn’t find a way through until the dying minutes when Katelongo Mphela ran onto a Steven Pienaar mishit to flick home.

It was yet another disconcerting soft goal against Tunisia who looked like keeping a clean sheet right up until the moment it conceded.

The quality of football is suffering significantly in the night game timeslot at this year’s African Cup of Nations.

While the descending humidity is a given, the players have failed to replicate the standard on show just in the curtain-raiser game.

After a sustained period of the first game of each double-header being the more entertaining game, it can no longer be put down to coincidence.

The last five days speak for themselves, the opening match yielding 26 goals and the night game just nine.  

While there are some one-sided scores helping along that rampaging 26-goal tally, night matches were a slaughter has been expected have also failed to deliver. Ghana may be out of form but scraped a 1-0 victory over Namibia in the heat of the night in Accra on Thursday after Guinea and Morocco’s end-to-end classic had yielded five goals between the teams.

While the heat and conditions should come as no shock to the players, an inability to play a pitch collecting dew has been blamed by some coaches – Ghana’s Claude Le Roy included – as a reason for the night-time struggle.  

Despite plenty of support from a noisy crowd in Sekondi on Friday, Nigeria and Mali played out the first and only 0-0 of the competition so far with a dearth of attacking chances.

The Confederation of African football has had little choice to put the games in the times they are (5 and 7.30pm kickoff) in order to attract as many fans as possible, while allowing time-consuming travel for local and international media.

Tonight promises to be the best chance of two quality games, with South Africa set to play Tunisia after notoriously negative Angola and Senegal play in the opener.

 Manchester United’s new acquisition Manucho has already shown what he is capable of with a superb leaping header to score against South Africa in the opening game.

 But Senegal will be stinging after Tunisia opened up their otherwise-resolute defence with two astounding strikes in the 2-2 draw.

South Africa escaped with a point against Angola and now face a Tunisia side who showed the quality in their team is up to the challenge in the most competitive group of the tournament.

Teo Pellizzeri, Accra

A thundering late strike from Mejdi Traoui has rescued a point for Tunisia in its 2-2 draw with Senegal in Tamale this evening.

 

It was a point dropped for the Senegalese who needed a host of chances to take a 2-1 lead but then failed to keep them coming after the go-ahead goal.

 

Traoui’s swerving strike left Tony Sylva standing in the Senegal goal as he hit the ball from outside the area under plenty of defensive pressure.

 

The game continued the amazing action and standard of goals at this edition of the Cup of Nations.

 

Issam Jemaa’s opener for Tunisia came from the tightest of angles while Traoui’s thunderbolt came under considerable defensive pressure from outside the area.

 

But it was Tunisia who had every right to go in unhappy at half time after Senegal’s Moustafa Sall equalised with the last kick of the first half.

 

After exchanging early attacking periods in the opening ten minutes and meeting packed defensive lines, it was only ever going to be a precision strike like Jemaa‘s that would break the deadlock.

 

However with the opening period petering out it was a costly error from Tunisia captain Radhi Jaidi that put the ball into Sall’s path.

 

The late goal gave Senegal all the momentum at the start of the second half.

 

Diomansy Kamara’s strikers’ instincts got the better of him with one opportunity as he blazed away for goal despite a tee-up of an open Sall beckoning.

 

But it was those predatory instincts that made the difference as Kamara put his foot to a shot to clear a goal-mouth scramble and find the back of the net.

 

After Traoui’s late strike neither side took the initiative to go on and open its Cup of Nations account with three points.

 

Tunisia will have plenty to think about before the next match, with Traoui and fellow striker Dos Santos both picking up yellow cards for dives. Dos Santos’ particularly incriminating as he went to ground in the opposite direction of any momentum the minimal contact he received would have pushed him.

 

The crowd in Tamale looked unimpressive, with the stadium’s size blamed by the local pundits for the poor turnout with the proximity of the competing teams also mentioned.