Egypt will take on Cote d'Ivoire while Cameroon will clash with hosts Ghana in the semi-finals of the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations. Inas Mazhar reports from Ghana Egypt is now looking for a repeat of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations victory. Making it to the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals was beyond the expectations of some and against the odds after Egypt's modest performances in the qualifying stages before the finals here in Ghana. But the Egyptians have surprised the public and the media here and back home with impressive performances and results. The defending champions Egypt beat Angola 2-1 to grab the ticket to the last four in the tournament at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Monday. The Pharaohs, who maintained their record of no losses in the ACN since 2006, started the game composed and self-assured. The last time Egypt lost in the Nations Cup was to Algeria in the last game of the group stages in the 2004 Nations Cup tournament. In the 23rd minute of the first half, a penalty was awarded by Japanese referee Yuichi Nichimura after Angolan captain Macanga Andre was adjudged to have handled the ball from a free-kick. Striker Hosni Abd Rabou converted it for the opener to complete a hat-trick from penalty spots at the tournament. It was also Abd Rabou's fourth goal in the tournament. He is now one goal behind Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o who leads the top scorers with five goals. Manucho, who recently completed a loan move to Panathinaikos from English giants Manchester United, scored one of the best goals of the tournament so far for the equaliser, a superb thunderbolt from over 30 metres. The strike took his tally to four to level with Abd Rabou . Amr Zaki luckily shouldered into the net the second goal for Egypt seven minutes before the break. Upon resumption, Manucho almost equalised but Egyptian keeper Essam El-Hadari tightened the angle. Angola's Flavio who plays in Egypt for Ahli was a thorn in the flesh of the Pharaohs defenders as he launched several attacks into their half. As Angola dominated possession, the pace really stepped up and both teams worked hard to make the difference. Midfielder Mohamed Abu-Treika, who started for the first time in the tournament, was influential for the Pharaohs. In a repeat of the 2006 final match, the Egyptians will now face the Elephants of Ivory Coast who whitewashed Guinea 5-0 in the quarter-final clash on Sunday at the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi. The Elephants will have to fly from Sekondi to meet the Egyptians who remain in Kumasi undefeated. The Egyptians were lucky to be staying in Kumasi, the capital of football, as it is by and large the second city in the country after Accra the capital. The Elephants led 1-0 at half-time thanks to a Kader Keita goal and captain Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou (twice) and Bakary Kone were on target as Guinea fell apart. Ivory Coast thrashed Ethiopia 6-1 in the group phase of the 1970 Nations Cup in Sudan and although strongly fancied to defeat Guinea, they could hardly have imagined winning so comfortably. Guinea were even worse off with suspended captain and playmaker Pascal Feindouno joined on the sidelines by central defender Dianbobo Balde, who failed a fitness test on a hamstring strain. The first Nations Cup clash between the countries drew a big crowd to the Essipong Stadium in the south-west town and there was one minute of silence in honour of the son of former Ivorian coach Uli Stielike before play began. Stielike had to quit as coach just two weeks before the tournament kicked off after his son lapsed into a coma and was replaced by Frenchman Gerard Gili. Given no chance of success, Guinea held out for 25 minutes before a careless clearance from veteran goalkeeper Kemoko Camara gifted a goal to Kader Keita from French champions Lyon. Fullback Ibrahim Camara was caught out by the clearance and Keita darted in to beat the goalkeeper at his near post and give the Elephants the lead with his second goal of the tournament. Inspirational leader Drogba was injured twice in quick succession, but recovered to see fellow striker Aruna Dindane blaze wide with the Guinea defence in disarray. A scrappy first half ended in a surge of excitement as Salomon Kalou, Dindane, Keita and Drogba went close at one end while largely idle Ivorian goalkeeper Boubacar Barry got down smartly to hold an Ismael Bangoura shot. Guinea coach Robert Nouzaret, a Frenchman who has twice coached Ivory Coast, made the first change of the match 15 minutes into the second half, sending on Karamoko Cisse in place of veteran striker Souleymane Youla. The Ivorians had a scare soon after as a free kick was pushed to Daouda Jabi, whose shot finished just off target with Barry hurting himself while trying to gather the ball. However, with 70 minutes gone the Elephants did score again as 2006 African Footballer of the Year Drogba latched on to a Arthur Boka pass and stroked the ball wide of Camara into the far corner of the net. Drogba turned creator soon after, setting up Kalou for the simplest of goals as the Chelsea striker rounded the Guinean goalkeeper and tapped the ball over the line with no defender close. Demoralised Guinea were leaving huge gaps in defence and Kalou and substitute Kone found the net in the closing stages. Hosts Ghana was the first nation to reach the semi-finals after a 2-1 victory over fellow West African rivals Nigeria. Manuel Agogo scored in the 83rd minute to give 10-man Ghana a deserved win. The Black Stars had started well with Sulley Muntari coming close in the opening minutes, but it was the Super Eagles who scored first. Anthony Annan clipped Ikechuku Uche in the vital zone following a goal mouth tussle and the central referee Mohamed Benouza pointed to the spot. Everton striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni dispatched the spot-kick to put Nigeria in the lead. Ghana fought back and obtained the needed at the stroke of the recess when Michael Essien headed a Quincy Owusu Abeyie cross. Ghana coach Claude Leroy renewed confidence in the team that defeated Morocco in their last group match while Berti Vogts stuck with the same starting line up that beat Benin 1-0 in the final Group B clash. The encounter lived up to its promises as it was a real debacle between the 22 actors. Tempers ran high from the opening minute of the game when Obinna Nwaneri clashed with Sulley Muntari following hard defending from the Nigerian. It was a fairly balanced first quarter as both sides had missed opportunities. Yakubu squandered at the 4th minute chance after being put through by Uche. Portsmouth striker Muntari then came close in the 14th minute after he dazzled his way into penalty area but his effort was cleared by the Nigerian backline. Ghana then raised their game and began to dominate possession. On the 20-minute mark Quincy Owusu shot wide from the edge of the box and Asamoah Gyan hit the woodwork. Nigeria also had its fair share of misses with Uche and Yakubu failing to score. After the break Nigeria began to pressure with Peter Odemwingie looking particularly dangerous. Ghana captain John Mensah was given marching orders on the hour mark after he brought down Peter Odemwingie. Despite their numerical strength, the Super Eagles failed to sparkle. The introduction of Obinna Nsofor did little to change the outlook of the game. The Black Stars rallied around stand-in captain Essien and delivered a spirited performance. Coach Leroy brought on Laryea Kingston and Haminu Draman which had an impact in the match. The substitutions paid off in the 83rd minute when Draman served Agogo who scored the winning goal. The indomitable Lions of Cameroon confirmed a place in the last four after a hard fought 3-2 victory over the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in the last quarter-final clash on Monday at Tamale Stadium. Striker Stephane Mbia's strike in the second minute of extra time was all the four-time champions needed to scale over the Tunisians who dominated possession through the epic encounter. The Carthage Eagles came back from two goals down to send the game into extra time, the first of the tournament. A spirited performance by the 2004 champions saw them draw equal and could have won the game in normal time but for some timely clearances from the Indomitable Lions rear. Cameroon, four-time champions started on a bright note and came close to breaking the deadlock after four minutes but midfielder Jean Makoun's header missed by inches. Mbia, who started his second game of the tournament, gave the Lions the lead after 19 minutes by connecting home Alexander Song's cross after a mishap in the Tunisian defence. Geremi was to double the lead in the 28th minute with a superb free-kick which beat Tunisian goalie Hamdi Kasroui after Makoun had been fouled. The Tunisians fought back and managed to draw equal five minutes later through Chaouki Ben Saada whose curling free-kick beat Cameroon goalkeeper Idriss Kameni. The Carthage Eagles kept the defence of Cameroon boiling with several attacks but the equaliser was not forthcoming. In the second half, after pinning the four- time champions to their half for a greater part of the game, Tunisia's efforts yielded dividends nine minutes from time through Chikhaoui Yasin who headed home Sabeur Frej's cross from the right flank. Cameroon's best chance of the opening was in the 83rd minute, but Samuel Eto'o failed to intercept Iddrisou Mohamadou's cross, forcing the game into extra time. Mbia scored in the second minute of extra time to confirm the Indomitable Lions' date with hosts Ghana for a place in the final today.
