The contest for supremacy at the ongoing Nations Cup Tamale, Ghana, venue, which is the battlefield for Group D teams, resumes on Sunday with two matches between Senegal and Angola and South Africa versus Tunisia.
After the first round of hostilities, all four teams are at par on points, as both matches on the opening day ended in draws.
Leadership of the standings was therefore crafted, based on the number of goals scored, and it was only the 'count-back' that pegged Tunisia and Senegal ahead of Angola and South Africa, as the former played to a 2-2 stalemate, while the latter drew 1-1.
It is this scenario which will fuel ferocious confrontations between the four sides as each of them still has a genuine claim to qualification for the quarter finals.
A win for any of them will vault it to four points and an advantageous position to pip others and advance in the competition.
So when El Hadj Diouf leads his compatriots onto the lush green turf at the Tamale Sports Stadium, their aim will be to spike Angola out of contention through a convincing victory, to brighten their prospects of winning their first title in the championship.
Despite the presence of more popular names in the Senegalese team, modern day soccer is not a respecter of names and the Henri Camaras, the Frederick Mendeys, the Papa Bouba Diops and the Diange Fayes must justify their ratings with vintage performances in this tricky duel, if Senegal must advance.
With a rampaging Flavio Amado always ready to prey and get results for Angola, goalkeeper Tony Sylva, who appears to be off colour lately, will need good cover from Ibrahima Sonko and Mohammed Saar, while Diomansy Kamara and Ibrahima Faye must be alert to their responsibilities.
Though Diouf failed to be on the score sheet in the opening match, he still remains a constant danger as he combines with Mustapha Sall and Kamara, who scored in their match against Tunisia.
The Angolan challenge will be reinforced by the resilience of their defence, which revolves round Paulo Figueiredo and Joao Pereira, with a lot of support and attacking initiatives coming from Gilberto Amaral and Luis Deldago.
An inform Alberto Mateus, who scored against South Africa in their first match, has the capacity to score again if he is given room to operate. So be careful, Senegal.
The match between South Africa and Tunisia will be more of an intellectual game than a physically-loaded brawn and muscle contest.
It will be a game won and lost from the bench, with the technically superior side running away with victory.
South Africa enters the fray with their mega buck earning Brazilian World Cup winning coach, Alberto Pereira, as against the crafty former French national coach, Roger Lemere, who is a master tactician in his own right.
Pereira will like to justify his high wages with an impressive performance to strengthen his claim of rebuilding the Bafana Bafana into a strong competitive side as they host the World Cup in 2010.
On the other hand, Lemere will like to prove that his high ratings as one of the best soccer tacticians in the world is no fluke.
And with youth as the focus of team selection for the two coaches, a fast-paced game with a lot of tactical manouvres will be display.
The new South African side showed in their first match that they could be a very mobile side, ready to unwind defence into attack as soon as they gain possession.
Steven Pienaar and Subisiso Zuma are two crafty players who rev the South African machine into gear when the need arises.
Mphele Katlego will have to complement the efforts of Siphwe Tshabala when he makes his runs forward, while Elrio Van Heerden must strive hard to get on the score sheet again to post himself among the great African strikers.
Lemere will rely on the experience of Radi Jaidi to halt the sleek South African play, while he releases his own arrowheads, made up of Issam Jemaa and Mejdi Troui into enemy territory to get the goals.
Brazil born Silva Dos Santos and Mehdi Nafti are other reliable target men who could put smiles on the face of Lemere and his employers.
