The final round of the group games saw several well fancied sides struggling for form and in danger of going out, but Group B’s final game saw Ghana edge it 1-0 to progress with Ivory Coast in to the quarter finals. It had certainly been a weird group with Mali pulling out but eventually, the two major sides got through, though Burkina Faso can be proud at their efforts.

They made themselves hard to beat and in knock out football, that can be all you need, as Greece proved in the 2004 European Championships. Ghana struggled, huffed and generally puffed throughout the group but just about got over the line. Group C saw Nigeria roll back the years to trounce Mozambique 3-0 but they made hard work of it through out the first half.

2 goals either side of half time from Osaze Odemwingie put daylight between Nigeria and their opponents and a late goal from Obamfemi Martins wrapped up all 3 points. Nigeria were ominously beginning to shake off the lethargy that had afflicted them in the first two games and began to play as the team of old.  It would be something unfair to dismiss Mozambique’s challenge as they did start the game brighter, but Nigeria have been there and done that. Experience counts for a lot in a major tournament.

Egypt also continued their fine form with a 2-0 win over Benin. Even resting key players couldn’t derail the Pharaohs great from so far in Angola, they’ve probably impressed me the most of all the notable sides. They kept the ball so well in this game, that despite everything being on the line for the Squirrels, they simply didn’t get enough possession. El Mohamedy scored a peach of a goal and when Moteab made it 2-0 after just 23 minutes, they game was effectively over.

The final group games saw so much to play for but ultimately someone had to go out. Gabon went into the game against Zambia knowing they simply needed a draw, but they seemed to freeze when their big moment arrived. Zambia however played with an abandon of a side with nothing to lose. They weren’t expected to qualify but they brushed Gabon aside to win 2-1 thanks to goals by Kalada and Chamanga. Gabon simply couldn’t get their game working and even after a late goal couldn’t do enough.

Cameroon also knew that they needed to avoid defeat against Tunisia to progress, but once again struggled to produce anything of real quality, especially after going 1-0 down in the opening minute. For half an hour they failed to create anything of note, but once again it was the talismanic striker, Samuel Eto’o who came to the rescue. He equalised at the beginning of the second half but Cameroon shot themselves in the foot and went behind again to an own goal. Staring elimination in the face they rallied and got a second equaliser through N’Guemo. The Indomitable Lions held on, but only just to progress.

So the Quarter Finals were upon us with four interesting games, the host nation Angola entertained Ghana but the fairytale came to an abrupt halt. Despite a feverish support, Angola couldn’t take their chances and recover the initiative after Gyan had given the Black Stars the lead after sixteen minutes. They wasted some great chances and thanks to some great goalkeeping by Ghanaian keeper Kingson, the host nation exited the competition.

Sundays other game saw a heavyweight clash between two World Cup qualifiers, Ivory Coast and Algeria. Both teams had started the tournament slowly but this game was anything but a slow clash. Chelsea’s Kalou got the Ivory Coast off to the best start with a 4th minute opener when he was left free in the box but Algeria would not be bowed and responded after 30 minutes through Matmour with a lovely right foot strike from the edge of the box. The second half was a tense affair but it exploded spectacularly in the final minutes.

With one minute of the match remaining, Kadou Keita hit a thunderbolt from outside the box that flew in to the top left hand corner to put the Ivory Coast on the threshold of the semi-finals but Algeria had other ideas. Unbelievably left unmarked in the box, Rangers centre half, Madjid Bougherra steered a header past the despairing dive of the goalkeeper in the 92nd minute to take the game to extra time.

Amazingly, 3 minutes in to extra time, it was another British based player, Hamed Bouazza, who was left unattended in the box to head Algeria in front for the first time in the match. Of course, we hadn’t had a major incident in either of Sundays games but that all changed in the final minute. The Ivory Coast poured forward and Kolo Toure struck a sweet shot to equalise but it was amazingly ruled out for offside. He was clearly onside and the replays showed as much, but the decision stood and the tournament favourites crashed out in controversial style.

Yesterday saw the remaining quarter finals and Cameroon’s luck finally ran out, though the day seemed to by destined as theirs. An early goal against the impressive Egyptians from a corner by Emana seemed to settle the Cameroonians down. No-one touched the ball apart from Egypt’s captain Ahmed Hassan as it whistled in to the net to start the goal scoring in bizarre circumstances.

Hassan, however, would drag his team back in to the game with a long range shot that went in from well outside the box ten minutes before half time to make it 1-1. Egypt seemed revitalised by this goal and took the game to Cameroon, who had Kameni to thank for keeping them in game but Cameroon continued to struggle but they hung on for extra time. The game turned almost as quickly as the extra period began, when Geremi under hit a back pass and Gado pounced to make it 2-1 but once again controversy reared its ugly head.

Just 3 minutes after going 2-1 down, Ahmed Hassan hit a free kick, Kameni saved it on to the bar and bounced away yet amazingly the linesman gave it and the goal stood. It wasn’t even close to being a goal but to be fair, Egypt had been the better side throughout the game and deserved the victory, but once again, the quality of the officiating dominated the post match discussions.

Finally, Zambia and Nigeria tried their best to send everyone to sleep in a dour 120 minutes but some people managed to make it to the penalty shoot out. Thankfully this gave us a notable incident, with both goalkeepers scoring, and Nigeria’s Vincent Eneyema not only saved a spot kick, he scored the winner to send Nigeria through to the semi-finals.

Sadly, the two shocking decisions soured some great football and it’s hard to think of two worse decisions at international level in this day and age, but hopefully neither set of officials will be here for the rest of the tournament. Thursday will see both games taking place, with the sumptuous West African derby between Nigeria and Ghana acting as a starter to a real grudge match, Algeria v Egypt. Hopefully all the battling will stay on the pitch this time. Roll on Thursday!!!

Now that’s what I call a tournament mascot. I don’t need modern interpretations of peace, harmony and good will like the dreadful trio that South Korea and Japan gave us in 2002. Dreadful mascots and a dreadful tournament. I want giant animals or characters that can play football or playing football. This is Palanquina, who is based on the famed Angolan Giant Sable Antelope, a rare animal now only found in one region of Angola. A proper mascot if there ever was one.

Well if the first round of matches showed us anything, then it was not to take anything for granted. Whilst some semblance of order returned in the second round of games, there were still some shocks and one of the best games you will see all year and allegations of match fixing. Just a normal continental football tournament then!

So Group A saw Algeria recover to beat under-performing Mali 1-0 on Thursday to get them back on track and put Mali facing the exit, but more on that later. Angola continued there fine form with a convincing 2-0 win of Malawi, with Manucho getting another goal. This meant that all Angola and Algeria needed was a 0-0 draw today for them both to qualify, regardless of how many goals Mali scored against Malawi. Can you guess what the final score was?

Apparently, the group stages are decided on head to head results, though the irony of Algeria being involved in a dodgy result after the 1982 World Cup saw them eliminated through exactly the same thing is rather a shame. Yet, Mali have only themselves to blame, they simply never got going until it was too late.

Group B gave us only one game on Friday, but what a match it was. A clash of real international heavyweights was end to end all through the game and Ivory Coast broke the deadlock in the first half, with Gervinho getting the opener. Ghana pushed and pushed but the Ivory Coast held on until half time. 10 minutes in to the second half though, Ghana looked to have the advantage when Emmanuel Eboue was sent off for a reckless two footed challenge.

This seemed to have the opposite effect though and with Drogba in mesmerising form, Ghana were torn to shreds and found themselves 3-0 down through Tiene and Drogba and the lack of real experience and quality in the Ghana side was compounded. Saturday brought further bad news and not just for the Black Stars, when Michael Essien was ruled out for the rest of the competition.With him on crutches, Chelsea will be hopeful that the knee injury is not too serious.

Ghana play Burkina Faso tomorrow knowing a win is the only thing that will get them through the group.

Group C saw Egypt continue with their remarkable from so far in Angola 2010, with another 2-0 win though it was a tough game at times, but another great game of football. Unfancied Mozambique had chances to score before conceding a harsh own goal, then missed chances to draw themselves level before Egypt finished them off with a superb turn and volley from Mohamed Gedo. The Pharoahs are looking good once again.

Nigeria, still hurting from their opening game loss against Egypt struggled to beat Benin 1-0, thanks to a Yakubu penalty in the 42nd minute. Despite all the experience, they looked sluggish and were also hit with an injury to key defender Joseph Yobo. If Benin had been more ruthless in front of goal, the Nigerians would be going home. Instead, a point against Mozambique will see them through.

Finally in Group D, Cameroon huffed and puffed after their humiliating defeat against Gabon to win 3-2 against Zambia despite being a goal down until the 68th minute. Geremi equalised and Eto’o put them 2-1 up but Zambia came back again to equalise with an 82nd minute penalty. To the rescue rode Idrissou with a late header to steal the win and keep Cameroon’s disappointing tournament on track. They need to get going soon because someone is going to take them apart if they’re not careful.

In the final game, surprise package, Gabon, battled to a fine 0-0 draw with Tunisia to keep themselves on track to reach the quarter finals. Tunisia meanwhile now know that the only way they’ll be through to the next stage is to beat Cameroon on Thursday. Now that is a game I’m looking forward to.

So there you have it, a bit of scandal, top Premiership players injured, unfancied Premiership players such as Daniel Cousin and Manucho doing their countries proud and a couple of big surprises. The next 3 days will be very interesting indeed and its been a great tournament so far. I’ll be back with another round up after Sunday’s first Quarter finals.

Qualified for Quarter Finals: Algeria, Angola, Egypt

Out and heading home: Mali and Malawi

On the edge of elimination: Ghana and Cameroon. Ghana have to win, Cameroon have to not lose.

Well, two days are left until the transfer window opens again and Manchester City look like they’ve signed two strikers to help Mark Hughes drag them up the table. I suppose they need some good news down at Eastlands after the ground flooded on Saturday due to flash floods.  With both signings, City could have an incredible 12 strikers on their books at the last count, but that number will fall by one on July 1st as young prospect Daniel Sturridge has agreed to join Chelsea.

With the roster of talent up front that Hughes has now, it’s safe to say that City will be looking to probably offload at least another 4 strikers apart from Sturridge. Vassell and Benjani, Ched Evans and the unloved Jo would be favourites to be heading for the door and all 4 will easily find new clubs before the season starts.  Bojinov may get another chance to show his potential, after a couple of injury ravaged seasons at Eastlands, Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz will still be settling in.

Of the others, Robinho will surely stay regardless of the rumours of Barcelona weighing up a bid for him and Caicedo may be off after comments in the press last week stating he’d had contact from 4 or 5 clubs looking to take him next season. Even footballers can work out that 12 strikers into 3 positions does not work out too well if you aren’t called Robinho, Santa Cruz, Eto’o, Tevez or Bellamy.

The signing of Carlos Tevez is no surprise as it’s been mooted since he announced that he was leaving Manchester United last week and throwing his dummy out of the pram as he went. The potential signing of Samuel Eto’o is a different level for me, easily one of the most consistent strikers in world football today, two footed, great in the air, pacey and a thunderous shot on him. He is one of the best strikers in the world to put it simply. I’m surprised but not shocked by Barcelona accepting a bid for him; he’s 28 and only has one year left on his contract at the Camp Nou. £28 million pounds is a lot for a guy with only 12 months left on his contract, but City need to show real ambition and the Eto’o signing is key to that ambition becoming reality.

Eto’o's signing could be the beginning for Hughes’ side and satisfying the long term aims of the Abu Dhabi Group. By now signing a genuine world class player for Manchester City, it’s a major development. Before anyone goes on about Robinho and Carlos Tevez being world class, no they’re not. They’re both damn good players, but the best players in their positions? Not a chance. Eto’o is certainly a name that would easily be mentioned when discussing the best striker in the world and if he decides to come then City have a top quality player.

The other aspect to this signing is the fact that other players will sit up and take notice that Eto’o has agreed to join Manchester City. It’s a major signing by any stretch of the imagination and will send a message out to other players out there. Now all Mark Hughes has to do is get this squad of players working as a team.

I had started planning my season end series of articles on what I thought would be the areas each club would look at strengthening and who would be moving out. However, Tottenham have already started their work with one purchase and heavy rumours of a sale in the very near future. Tottenham manager Juande Ramos began his summer shopping early with the capture of young Croatian star Luka Modric and the £16 million splashed out on that deal is the first step in the summer overhaul of his current squad.

As reported by EPL Talk, Tottenham Hotspur launched their new kits for next season and quite noticeably absent was their best player, striker Dimitar Berbatov. This has only upped the speculation that he is going to be sold at the end of this season though I’m not sure it is even fair to call it speculation when both his current manager and the player and agent have all made statements that would indicate a move is in the works.

Berbatov has two years left on his current deal and talks to extend the deal have stalled. Tottenham do not want his contract to run into the last year, when the transfer fee would drop considerably. They would be faced with the prospect of losing him on a free transfer in 2010 when he would be just 29.

It would be foolish for Tottenham to sell Berbatov to another club in England. I saw him a few times before he arrived at Tottenham but once I got to see him on a regular basis, he made a huge impression on me. Berbatov has sniped 46 goals and created nearly as many since arriving at White Hart Lane. He has incredible footwork and vision, and is a complete player rather than just a goal-poacher. He often drops a bit deeper to help support the buildup play and can zip the ball around as well as any playmaking midfielder. However, he can also act as a lone target man and can also hold up the ball while waiting for teammates to support. Berbatov modelled himself first on Marco van Basten and later Alan Shearer. And while he has not quite reached the levels of those two, Berbatov has become one of the top strikers in Europe, at least in my opinion, though I am not alone on that front.

In speaking with The Times after a match between Wigan and Tottenham, Latics boss Steve Bruce was almost lost for words. Bruce saw plenty of world-class forwards in his days as a Manchester United defender but had the mercurial Bulgarian. “He’s sheer class,” Bruce said. “He makes it look so easy. He reminds me of a top, top player.” Bruce would not be drawn farther – “I’m not going there, I can already see the headlines,” he said – but the inference was clear. Berbatov reminded him of Old Trafford icon Eric Cantona who had a short fuse and played with his collar turned up.

He is the type of talent that could tip the balance of power among the “Big Four” in the Premier League. I think he’d best fit into either of the playing styles of Manchester United or Arsenal with United the most in need of a centre-forward. That said, it looks as if he will be moved abroad, which will be a loss for the Premier League.

The clubs being mentioned as suitors are AC Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona. According to some reports that I’ve read, Tottenham would prefer to sell the player to Barcelona, with the overriding factor being a potential swap deal with Samuel Eto’o moving in the other direction. This would make a great deal of sense for both clubs and both players. Eto’o seems like he would be suited to the break-neck pace of the Premier League and while he has done very well in England, one can only imagine the beautiful goals Berbatov would score playing with the likes of Messi, Henry and Xavi. Eto’o who has made statements about leaving Barcelona has had a tumultuous relationship with the Barcelona hierarchy and coaching staff. Even in the past month he has made, and then retracted, statements about being unhappy with the lack of trophies in the past couple of seasons. Eto’o, also 27 years old, was quoted in late April as saying: “I’ve done it all in Spain, I’ve reached the heights here and so if I do leave I will go to another league.” He later clarified his statements to radio station Cadena SER and said the he intended to portray that he “would not feel comfortable playing in a team that signed me to score goals and to win, and I don’t manage it.” He said he “would not be able to look the fans in the face.”Barca’s rivals Real Madrid are unlikely to ignore the chance to go for Berbatov, though Tottenham may ask for Brazilian youngster Robinho plus cash from the current La Liga champions.

Berbatov is desperate to win trophies and also wants play in the Champions League while he is still in his prime. Tottenham are a full season away from the Champions League (at a minimum) and they will be entering a rebuilding phase this summer as Ramos looks to continue the changes he started in January. Both Barcelona and Madrid can assure Berbatov of that chance.

As for AC Milan, Berbatov has already spoken out about interest from the Italian outfit. In an interview in Bulgaria last month he said: “There is some interest on the part of the Italian club, that’s all I can say. I’ll be flattered to go to talks with them.” Much like Barcelona, Berbatov combining with Pirlo and Kaka could make for some ‘liquid football’.

Regardless of where Berbatov goes, the club look set to make a sizeable profit from the sale of the player as his stock has risen greatly after two excellent seasons at White Hart Lane. Spurs spent £10.9m to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 and that has been one of the best buys of the last couple of seasons. Spurs should receive between £20 – 30m in value for the player depending on the package offered them. One would be very skeptical that they would get £20m + Eto’o or anything similar to that.

The sale would help to increase the transfer budget of Ramos. As other possible replacements for Berbatov, Tottenham have been linked with David Villa of Valencia. Ramos has also been linked with a raid on former club Sevilla for their 20-year-old left winger Diego Capel. Capel’s buy-out price was £9.5m but once he’d played 40 first-team games, a target he reached against Murcia last month, the price rose by £2m. According to what I’ve read, Spurs can apparently pay the fee directly to the Spanish league office and then begin direct negotiations with Capel and his agent without involving Sevilla.

Spurs are also expected to make another bid for midfielder Lassana Diarra, having lost out on him to Portsmouth during the January transfer window. There have also been rumblings about Birmingham’s Olivier Kapo making a move to London should the Blues be relegated.

One player who Ramos will definitely lose is 34 year-old Czech goalkeeper Radek Cerny, who recently announced that he will join Queens Park Rangers next season.