Worldscene: For Angola, Ghana, and Togo, this could be a momentous footballing week. While Irish eyes will inevitably be keenly focused on events in Nicosia on Saturday night, spare a thought next weekend for the aforementioned African sides, all of which could earn themselves a historic first place at the World Cup finals in Saturday's final round of African qualifiers.
Of the potential World Cup debutants, it is Ghana who are in the most comfortable position. They go into Saturday's final game in Praia, Cape Verde Islands, on top of Group Two, three points clear of those in joint second, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who meet in Durban.
(In the African qualifiers, unlike the European qualifiers, only the group winner goes through).
Only a total disaster, it would seem, can stop Ghana from picking up the one point they need to wrap up the group.
For the little island nation of Cape Verde, with a population of 500,000, there is nothing at stake other than pride. For Ghana, for years a constant source of talented footballers, this is the game of a lifetime.
Even a cursory glance at the squad called up by their Serbian coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, gives an indication of the side's strengths. Twelve members of the squad play their football for European clubs with three of them - Michael Essien of Chelsea, Sully Muntari of Udinese and Stephane Appiah of Fenerbahce - important figures in sides that play in the thin-air zone of the Champions League.
So strong is Dujkovic's squad that he can afford to leave out well recognised names such as AS Roma central defender Sammi Kuffour. He has been omitted for disciplinary reasons just as Muntari was left out of the side that beat Congo 2-0 in September.
Even though Ghana's qualification looks a dead cert, Dujkovic has been trying to talk the match up this week from his training camp in Portugal, saying: "I have watched Cape Verde play a few times on television, I have videos of their games and I am watching and making analysis of their team. They are very strong at home and it will be a very difficult match for us. We are taking this crucial match very seriously."
If Ghana's triumphant entry onto the world stage is long overdue, the same can hardly be said of little Togo. Ranked 99th in the Fifa listings in May of last year, Togo have pulled off a huge World Cup surprise thanks to their coach, the former Nigeria captain Stephen Keshi, and to their star striker, Monaco's Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor, scorer of nine goals in qualifiers.
Togo go into their final game on Saturday against Congo in Brazzaville two points clear of Senegal, no less, in Group One. Togo need just a point to win the group and thus eliminate one of the great surprise packets of the last World Cup - Senegal.
Even if Togo end up level on points with Senegal, they will go through on the head-to-head count because they beat Senegal 3-1 at home and drew 2-2 away.
Of the three potential debutants, it is little Angola who have the most difficult task. They go into the last day joint top of the table with the mighty Nigeria, but have to play away to Rwanda in Kigali while Nigeria host Zimbabwe in Abuja.
Remarkably, though, even here the head-to-head count will favour the outsiders since Angola beat Nigeria in Ruanda in June of last summer and then held them to an away 1-1 draw in Kano, in June this year. In other words, if Angola win, they are through.
As for the other two groups, Tunisia take a one-point lead over Morocco into their decisive final Group Five game in Tunis on Saturday, a game that could prove hot to handle for Egyptian referee Abd El Fatah Eam.
Finally in Group Three, regular World Cup qualifiers Cameroon need a home win against Egypt in Yaounde to see off the challenge of Didier Drogba and Ivory Coast, who trail by just one point and are away to Sudan in Omdurman.
Plenty to play for in Africa.
