By Richard Avornyotse - GNA Sports

Accra, Jan. 26, GNA - The contest for supremacy at the Tamale venue, which is the battlefield for "Group D" teams resumes on Sunday with two fierce matches between Senegal and Angola and South Africa and Tunisia, respectively.

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 would fuel ferocious confrontations between the four sides as each of them still has a genuine claim to qualification to the quarterfinals stage.

A win for any of them would 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 would 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 Camara, Frederick Mendey, the Papa Bouba Diop and the Diange Faye 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 would need good cover from Ibrahima Sonko and Mohammed Saar, while Diomansay 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 their goals in their match against Tunisia. The Angolan challenge would 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 informed 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.

It would be an interesting and uncompromising match. The match between South Africa and Tunisia would be more of an intellectual game than a physically loaded brawn and muscle contest. It would 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 and a distinguished one at that.

While Pereira would 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, Lemere would 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 manoeuvres would be on 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 would 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 would 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 marksmen, who could put smiles on the faces of Lemere and his employers.