Zambian coach Herve Renard was quick to express pride in his team after their ACN quarter-final exit to Nigeria on penalties.   The Chipolopolo had chances to win over the 120 minutes, which Renard acknowledged when he said: “We did not lose against a better team but unfortunately we did not score.”   He added: “Zambians can be very proud of their team and I am very proud of my players.”

Fellow Frenchman Paul Le Guen was less proud of his Cameroon side, who also departed the tournament yesterday, 3-1 after extra-time to holders Egypt.

He said: “It would have been a good experience if we had won. But I need to rely on my young players for the World Cup. There were a lot of players under-achieving.”

The Algerian government says it has plans already in place to “airlift” supporters to Thursday’s hotly-anticipated semi-final against Egypt.

The two sides have a “history”, the latest chapter of which was the Fennecs’ World Cup qualifying play-off victory over the Pharaohs in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in November.

Foreign affairs minister Mourad Medcli said: “There is already a programme at government level – and not just ideas – to allow hundreds of supporters to travel to Angola.”

The Sudanese encounter, and the two sides’ meeting in Cairo four days’ previously, was surrounded by crowd violence and political conflict. And CAF officials will need to be vigilant in order to control the inevitable tensions surrounding Thursday’s rematch.