KANNUR: The foreign flavour has neither brought in the crowds nor has it produced enthralling football in the inaugural E.K. Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup international tournament.

But when the semifinals begin on Saturday, the scenario could change with favourite FC Nania, Ghana taking on the experienced Iranians and Viva Kerala locking horns with State Bank of Travancore.

The Ghana players with their dazzling speed have impressed everyone but they haven't scored enough goals to do justice to their dominance in the matches they have played in the tournament so far.

In Kofi Rahim Ayew and Charles Boating, Ghana has two potential match-winners.

Ghana struggled when both SBT and Pakistan XI slowed down the proceedings. The reluctance of the Ghana players to use high crosses has reduced their goal-scoring chances considerably.

The Ghana players have their task cut out against the Iranians who haven't played to their potential.

The Iranian defence is pretty well organised and its midfield is functioning with clockwork precision.

But it is the inconsistency of its forward line that should be a cause of worry. Both Hashem Harideri and Majid Nowrouzi should find ways to put the ball more in the net consistently for Iran to entertain any hopes of putting it across its opponent.

The Viva-SBT match is a keenly-awaited encounter. But Viva without its scoring machine Baba Tunde, who will miss the semifinals for two yellow cards, is like a rudderless ship.

Coach A.M. Sreedharan said that his side would miss Tunde but he had enough faith in other players.

"He is our trump card our entire game plane revolved around him. Replacing him will be difficult. The team will also find it tough to play in a different pattern. We expect SBT to come at us hard," he said.

Tunde's absence will put more pressure on Anil Kumar to deliver the goods.

Viva must be happy with the form of both Muneer and Shineraj. The duo played well in their 2-1 win over Iran XI.

SBT, which sneaked into the semifinals only because Vasco beat Pakistan XI, will be eyeing a place in the final.

The Thiruvananthapuram side will have to lift its game a few notches to beat Viva which is definitely the in-form team.

Barring the exuberance shown by Faizal Rahman, the SBT's old war horses — Asif Saheer and Abdul Hakkim — are yet to deliver.

In the midfield both Noushad and Rinil made their presence felt.

Goalkeeper Jean Christian, who has been in fine form in the tournament, will have to be at the top of his game against Viva.

Coach Sethumadhavan is hoping for all pieces to fall in place in the match against Viva.