“Fierce west African rivals Ghana and Nigeria are preparing to face each other in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, in one of the biggest games between the two in recent years. Here, we ask our reporters in the two countries to gauge the contrasting moods in the Ghanaian and Nigerian press ahead of Thursday’s crunch tie.” (BBC)

‘Match of Hate,’ Renewed
“With the taste of World Cup defeat still lingering, Egypt will have a chance to face down its archrival Algeria — again — when the teams play in the African Cup of Nations semifinal Thursday in Benguela, Angola. The two North African teams played two fiercely contested matches late last year to determine the final spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The meetings were marred by violence and controversy.” (NYT)

Algeria plan to airlift fans to Angola for Egypt semi
“The Algerian government says it has plans to airlift hundreds of its fans to Angola for the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Egypt. Thousands of Algerian fans were flown into Sudan last November as they beat Egypt 1-0 in a World Cup play-off game. The minister of foreign affairs Mourad Medcli says plans are already in place.” (BBC)

Super Eagles edge through after shoot-out
“Vincent Enyeama was the hero for Nigeria saving one penalty and then scoring the crucial final one to help his side seal a place in the African Nations Cup semi-finals with a shoot-out victory over Zambia. The Super Eagles, outplayed for large parts of the clash in Lubango, looked to be heading for the exit door after struggling in the face of their determined opponents, who did everything apart from finding the back of the net during the 120 minutes of open play.” (ESPN)

African Nations Cup 2010
(ESPN)