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The first quarter-final at the 2010 African Cup of Nations gets underway with unpredictable hosts Angola entertaining Ghana, who laboured into the knock-out stages and are missing several key players. It promises to be an entertaining first knock-out match as arguably the most exciting team at the tournament in terms of going forward Angola attempt to send their fans into raptures by making it to the semi-finals. After years of not entering the competition and only appearing for the first time ever in 1996, progress to the semi-finals would be the furthest the Palancas Negras have ever got. Ghana having just about survived this far and are evidently missing some of their main players such as Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari and may find themselves overwhelmed by the attacking verve of Angola. THE FORREST GUMPS OF AFRICA? The most famous line in the film Forrest Gump sees star Tom Hanks sitting on a bench musing: �My Moma always said life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what yer gonna get�. Filmed in 1996, the first year that Angola ever appeared at the African Cup of Nations, Hanks displayed impressive prescience regarding this current Angolan side some 15 years in the future. We�ve seen four goal leads squandered combined with some wonderfully attacking and inventive play both against Mali and Malawi, but also a more cynical approach to the game in their final match against Algeria. In fairness to the hosts of the tournament, they looked less complicit in playing out the final minutes without attacking, safe in the knowledge that a 0-0 draw between themselves and opponents Algeria would guarantee both passage at the expense of Mali. Going into the match against Ghana therefore, there has to be a significant question mark over which Angola will turn up. Will it be the one of the first 75 minutes against Mali or the rather defensive and cagey one that we saw against Algeria? They have arguably exceeded pre-tournament expectations, confounding some who suggested they may be heading for a premature exit at the group stage. In the event the relatively poor showings from Algeria and Mali helped ease Angola through, but they have also shone at times. Their form at the 2010 African Cup of Nations has been far superior to their performances 18 months ago when they crashed out of the qualifying section for the World Cup, which also doubled up as the tournament for this competition, at the first stage finishing behind Benin and level with Uganda. Much of the credit for the improved level of performance must go to Portuguese boss Manuel Jose, who helped manage Al-Ahly to multiple continental and Egyptian titles before taking over at Angola last year. He has created a somewhat unorthodox formation that defies conventional tactical annotation with a flat-back three but also three in midfield, and then two lines of attacking players free to roam around the pitch. It may look a bit odd on paper (3-3-2-2?), but it seems to work in practice. Furthermore Angola have answered questions about their ability to handle the pressure of local expectations, despite the inexplicable loss of the four goal margin against Mali in the first game. Indeed that late collapse may even have helped instil a sense of discipline and purpose. Against Malawi, they gave the Flames very little to work with going forward, and they also marshalled the flaccid Algerian attack well when pressed into service.