Ivory Coast, Nigeria headline quarters

| Wednesday May 1, 2013 00:00

The Ivorians are again fancied to win this competition after they lost last year's final to an inspired Zambia, while Nigeria's Super Eagles boast an impressive record in this tournament even if they struggled to reach the knockout stage here.

The other all-west African quarterfinals will see Togo battle Burkina Faso, while Ghana take on surprise package Cape Verde.

On Saturday, hosts South Africa will seek revenge against Mali in Durban for a place in the semifinals. Nigeria skipper, Joseph Yobo said Sunday's showdown in Rustenburg against the Elephants will always be one of the biggest ties in Africa.'It does not come any bigger than this in Africa and, of course, we will be the underdogs against the highest ranked team in Africa. But the game will only be decided on the pitch,' said Yobo, who is at his sixth tournament.

'Everyone expects us to lose this match, but as players we just put our heads down and come Sunday we will cause a little upset against the Ivory Coast,' added Chelsea winger Victor Moses, who scored twice against Ethiopia to set up the tie.

 'They have got quality players like Didier Drogba, one of the best strikers in Africa. But as a team we will concentrate on our own strengths.'

The fairy tale run of the Blue Sharks from Cape Verde will face a stern test against one of the tournament favourites, Ghana, on Saturday in the Indian Ocean city of Port Elizabeth.

'We will keep working hard and try to win the next game,' said coach Lucio Antunes, an air traffic controller on a long sabbatical who has fired this team to the unexpected success.

However, they are up against four-time champions Black Stars of Ghana, who beat them 1-0 in a warm-up game in Portugal recently and have hit top form at the right time.

The other all-west Africa clash will be between Togo and Burkina Faso in Nelspruit on Sunday. Burkina Faso, who will be without injured star striker Alain Traore, are only appearing in their second quarterfinal after they first did so in 1998, when they staged the competition.

A Togo team led by Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor have also made history by reaching the knockout stage for the first time.

The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban will again be packed on Saturday as fans troop to cheer the home team to the last four after a stuttering start.

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund is now just a victory away from meeting the semifinal target set for him at this tournament.(SAPA)