Guinea has had a terrible last 12 months battling the Ebola disease which deprived them the chance of playing their qualifiers in Conakry. They have probably faced more stigmatization than shots at their goal. That they have come this far given all the problems they have encountered is nothing short of remarkable.

They may have been aided by huge dose of luck-they won a lot against Mali to get to the quarter finals. But after all they have been through who will deny them some turn in fortunes? They will hope the clash with the much fancied Ghanaians provide a reason for another smile for their suffering compatriots.

Ghana’s charge is motivated by a quest for redemption; redemption from a self-inflicted bad image created during the Brazil 2014 world cup. Ghana has always provided a sub-plot for the world Cups they have been involved in. In the first two, they were the only African team to progress farthest. The drama over bonuses and poor performance in Brazil has made the “nation of 25 million coaches” lukewarm and even antagonistic towards the team. The Black Stars have all to do in the quarter finals as an exit will hardly placate the nation. Only the cup will do.

The game is therefore finely poised with non-sporting objectives giving impetus to the quest of victory in what should be a competitive match between two technically good sides. Given the romanticism being attached to the campaign of the Guineans, it may be thought that they have just been carried into this stage on a wave of fortune.

On the contrary, they have had to work for their achievement. They progressed from a tough group comprising Mali, Ivory Coast and Cameroon without suffering a defeat. In Michel Dusuyeur they have a coach fairly accustomed to Africa who has built a good squad around players like Constant, Ibrahima Traore, Florentin Pogba among others.

This Ghana squad has not yet gotten into full groove yet so it is remarkable that they topped a group with Senegal and Algeria. They have hardly had a very convincing display bar the last 45-minutes against South Africa. They have not been at their fluent best but have found other ways of getting results. Their attacking flair, short passing and dribbling have been in short supply but not defensive organization and solidity. Avram Grant, the Isreali appointed as coach at the latter stages of last year has built a team that is well organized defensively.

They have faced the fewest shot on target throughout the tournament-six. And since ditching the 3-5-2 deployed in their first match against Senegal, their attacking plays have improved. It is a real positive for the Ghanaians that they have reached this stage even though key men such as Andrew Ayew, Asamoah Gyan, Agyemang Badu and Everton’s Christian Atsu have not had stellar tournaments.

Guinea has overcome a lot in the last 12 months. One more thing they must try to overcome if they are to make their fans continue smiling is history. They have not beaten the Ghanaians at the African Nations Cup before (L3, D2) and they are yet to go beyond the quarter finals stage since the competition was made a 16-team competition in 1996.

They will have to surmount this piece of history without defender Florentin Pogba and possibly captain Zayate. The Ghanaians have a cleaner bill of health with the faster than expected recovery of the impressive Daniel Amartey.

As the Zambians showed in 2012, the competition has had a place for romantic stories. Guinea’s have pretty much gone that way so far. But the Ghanaians have more than enough to be killjoys.