Two of African football's more consistent performers of recent years, Algeria and Senegal, look on course to meet in this year's Africa Cup of Nations final and reprise an exciting clash from earlier in the tournament. The two countries have emerged as favorites to reach the July 19 final as the tournament reaches the quarterfinal stage on Wednesday, devoid of its hosts and facing the embarrassing specter of near empty stadiums. Senegal's path to the final looks a modest task for one of the strongest squads in the competition, but Algeria face a tough examination of their credentials if they are to play the title decider at Cairo International Stadium. The Algerians must first overcome the Ivory Coast on Thursday and, if successful, take on either Nigeria or South Africa in the semifinal on Sunday. But four successive victories at the tournament in Egypt have emphasized not only Algeria's potential, but also emboldened a side whose technical ability is often sunk by a fragile mentality. Riyad Mahrez has led a team that plays a high energy game, have yet to concede and have proven adept finishers, making them an anomaly in a tournament again characterized by a poor conversion rate. They deservedly beat Senegal 1-0 in their group game on June 27 in a major boost to their confidence and their 3-0 demolition of Guinea in Sunday's last-16 match was arguably the best performance by any team at the tournament. "Algeria have shown that they are good at all levels. They are very powerful. They are the best team at the moment," said losing coach Paul Put. Senegal's half of the draw has been weakened by a string of upsets with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Morocco all exiting at the first knockout stage. Senegal meet minnows Benin in the first of the quarterfinals on Wednesday and are overwhelming favorites to progress to a semifinal clash against either rookies Madagascar or a tepid Tunisia. On the schedule, the showcase quarterfinal was reserved for late on Wednesday at the Cairo International Stadium, where Egypt would have been in action in front of a sellout crowd. But it is likely now that a near empty stadium will provide a deflating backdrop to the mouthwatering clash between South Africa, conquerors of Egypt on Saturday, and Nigeria, who dumped holders Cameroon out the same day. Nigeria have dominated past meetings between the continent's two economic giants but South Africa delivered an unexpectedly competent performance to deservedly knock out the hosts. Tanzania fire coach after Cup of Nations exit Tanzania have fired their national team coach Emmanuel Amunike after they failed to win a game at the Africa Cup of Nations and exited at the group stage. Amunike took over last August and helped them qualify for the finals for the first time in 39 years. "Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) and the coach of the national team, the Tarifa Stars, Emmanuel Amunike, have jointly agreed to terminate our contract," the TFF said in a statement on their website. "Interim coaches will be announced later after an emergency executive committee." Tanzania lost to Algeria, Kenya and Senegal in Group C in Egypt, scoring just two goals while conceding eight. Their 3-2 defeat to northern neighbors Kenya was particularly disappointing as they gave up the lead twice. Following that loss, Amunike said the team needed exposure to stronger competition and that players needed to be in more competitive leagues for them to develop. Only three members of the squad are based in Europe — Blackpool's Adi Yussuf, Racing Genk's Mbwana Samatta and Faridi Mussa, who plays in the lower tier of the Spanish league. The squad also had 14 members plying their trade in the domestic league. — Reuters
