Whilst neither the Angolan nor Ivory Coast camps were rewarded with a $1m bonus for winning their opening group games, as the squad of co-hosts Equatorial New Guinea have been by the controversial businessman Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, both sides are in the enviable position of being able to qualify for the quarter-finals of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations with a game to spare.

This will happen, should Angola triumph over Sudan and Ivory Coast against Burkina Faso, but it is also appropriate to emphasise that these outcomes are by no means foregone conclusions, given the level of competitiveness which was witnessed in the first round of games in Group B.

It would have been understandable for the Sudanese players to feel daunted by the prospect of facing tournament favourites Ivory Coast, but even if they were, their play did not suggest so. Although beaten 1-0, it was Mohamed Abdallah’s men who, for performing manfully against their far more illustrious opponents, rightfully received all the plaudits registered by neutral spectators. From these plaudits the Sudan players can draw confidence, which they will need to play with to get the positive result against Angola, which Abdallah is demanding: “For us to continue participating in this competition we are obliged to win, otherwise it will mean we effectively have to go home. This is not an option for us

Whatever Abdallah’s thoughts on elimination at the group stage, it is a strong possibility for his charges. To avoid it becoming a reality, they will have to be at their best against Angola, who impressed in beating Burkina Faso 2-1 and have received positive news on the availability for selection of two of their players in the wake of that victory.

The Angola Football Federation’s application to swap the allegiance of Nando Rafael from Germany, who he represented at U-21 level, back to the country of his birth was accepted by Fifa on Monday. This means the player is in contention to face Sudan, along with fellow striker Djalma Campos, who has recovered from a muscle strain that was causing him some discomfort. The duo’s availability enhances Angola’s prospects of becoming the second nation in the last eight, after Equatorial New Guinea making it through last night, where Ivory Coast will join them if they defeat Burkina Faso in this evening‘s late game.

In order to achieve this against the same nation which held them to a 0-0 draw in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, the Elephants will need to improve upon the performance they produced in unconvincingly beating Sudan 1-0, with Didier Zokora set to return from suspension to help them do just that.

Whilst Zokora’s inclusion will not make Burkina Faso’s already difficult task of avoiding defeat in the game to retain hope of securing a quarter final place, any easier, neither will their squad being cut to 22 players. Fifa have declared talented midfielder Abdou Razak Traore ineligible to play any role at the finals as a result of “passport issues,” according to Burkina Faso’s outspoken Coach Paulo Duarte, who has accused Angola of employing anti-football tactics during their 2-1 win over his side. However, the Portuguese also recognised that defensive frailties had contributed to this defeat, which his players must eradicate against Ivory Coast to give themselves a genuine chance of causing an upset against the tournament favourites.

Although a ball is still to be kicked in Group B of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, it already has a controversial subplot to run alongside anything which may happen in the forthcoming games.

Over the past few days, each of the teams has familiarised themselves with where they are due to be based throughout the group stage. However, both the Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast camps have declared a strong dissatisfaction with their respective accommodation in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial New Guinea.

In the case of Ivory Coast, on the team’s arrival at their hotel, they are believed to have been unhappy with its standard. As such, they considered seeking alternative accommodation but subsequently decided not to move, at least until after they open their campaign against Sudan later on this evening. This represents a repeat of a group game from the 1970 tournament which Ivory Coast won 1-0.

Ominously for the Sudanese, since they failed to score in either of their warm-up matches against Tunisia and co-hosts Gabon, Ivory Coast have not conceded a goal in any of their last four opening games at an Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Furthermore, with a major aspect of manager Francois Zahoui’s pre-tournament focus being on ensuring that his charges don’t show the same complacency which has undermined the efforts of previous Ivory Coast teams to win a second Africa Cup of Nations championship after their 1992 success in Tunisia, those players he calls upon tonight will be well briefed not to underestimate Sudan and ready to perform professionally.

They will have to do so without Didier Zokora, who serves a one-game suspension after picking up two yellow cards during qualification. His absence means that Zahoui will have to select an alternative partner for Kolo Toure in central defence, after Zokora has regularly shown his aptitude for efficiently filling that position and the most likely other candidate, Sol Bamba, struggled to do so during the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Otherwise, Zahoui has a full squad to choose from, as does his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Abdallah, whose optimism about his team’s chances of progressing beyond the group stages is admirable, if not shared by many outside the Falcons of Jediane camp.

Turning to the issues that the Burkina Faso camp have identified with their Malabo base, these centre around claims made by manager, Paulo Duarte, that both the quality and proximity to training facilities, of his team’s accommodation is far less desirable than those of group opponents, Angola and Ivory Coast. Whether there is due reason for this sense of injustice is unclear. It may be one which Duarte has intentionally manufactured to motivate his players for their game against the Angolans, billed as being decisive in determining which of the two teams will progress to the last eight along with Ivory Coast.

Both teams will begin their bids to achieve this with virtually their strongest squads, although Mahamadou Kere and Saidou Mady Panandetiguiri are doubts for Burkina Faso, whilst Angola manager Lito Vidigal does not have FIFA approval to field former German U-21 international Nando Rafael. Nevertheless, with FC Porto’s Djalma and Manucho of Real Valladolid set to line up in attack for Angola, Vidigal will be confident of his team causing plenty of problems to Burkina Faso, who are capable of carrying a potent attacking threat of their own, namely through the French-based duo of Alain Traore and Jonathan Pitroipa. Without wishing to tempt fate, this all bodes well for an enthralling game of football.