By Eniwoke Ibagere in Lagos

The African Cup of Nations semi-final showdown between Nigeria and South Africa will have a distinctly English flavour.

Some players that will be on parade play for either English Premiership clubs or in the lower divisions.

Quinton Fortune, a South African forward, is on the books of table-topping Manchester United.

His national team captain, Lucas Radebe, also captains Leeds United, who are in second place in the league.

Arsenal, third behind the Elland Road side, have Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu, the 1999 African Player of the Year.

And among Cheslea's galaxy of continental stars is Nigeria's defender Celestine Babayaro.

Also in focus are South Africa's defender Mark Fish, midfielder Eric Tinkler and goalkeeper Andre Arendse, with Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Oxford United, respectively.

Nigeria's bandana-wearing defender Efetobore Sodje, with Luton Town FC, will be part of the action as well.

Grudge match

The game is an eagerly anticipated clash between the continent's two superpowers and is expected to attract a near-record television audience around the African continent.

Political intrigue in recent years has ensured a fierce rivalry in what will be their third meeting.

The first was in October 1992 in Lagos, after South Africa returned from its apartheid-period international isolation.

Nigeria's Super Eagles walloped "Bafana Bafana" (The Boys, The Boys) 4-0 in a World Cup qualifying match in Lagos. The second leg in Johannesburg ended 0-0.

Talk of a grudge match when both sides meet again has been on since 1996 after a diplomatic row between former South African president Nelson Mandela and then Nigeria's late military ruler General Sani Abacha.

The row began after Mandela criticised Abacha for ordering the execution of famous Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight minority activists in 1995 for the alleged murder of four pro-government Ogoni chiefs.

As a result, Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth and shunned worldwide.

South Africa then withdrew an invitation to Nigerian to play in a Four-Nation Soccer Tournament before the 1996 finals, while Abacha retaliated by withdrawing the Super Eagles, then-defending champions, from the Cup of Nations.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) later banned Nigeria from the 1998 event in Burkina Faso.

Events off the field have further raised the stakes, but the players say there will be no bitternness among them on the field.

"There's been so much negative hype about this game, but I see it from a positive angle in the interest of football," said Fish, the South African skipper.

Radebe, who played in the previous clashes, added: "Most players on both sides are friends - like me and Kanu, Fish and Sunday Oliseh. So this game is a friendly affair."

The Nigerians share the same sentiments with the South Africans.

"We are staying in the same hotel and when Fish and I met in the lobby we hugged with affection," said Nigerian captain Oliseh.

'Premature final'

Team mate Tijani Babangida added: "Some of us were in the same African team that beat a European side 2-1 in Lisbon in 1997, so I doubt if there will be any ill feeling in this match."

Further spice has, however, been added to the clash by players from the rival camps, each claiming superiority and saying that the match is the tournament's premature final.

Radebe said: "The Nigerians have always claimed we couldn't call ourselves champions in 1996 because they weren't at the tournament. So we'll like to make a point of beating them now."

Nigeria's Julius Aghahowa, the tournament's 18-year-old scoring sensation, replied: "Definitely it's going to be a tough game, but ask any layman and he'll tell you we'll win. We don't lose at home."

Aghahowa, in fact, saved Nigeria from the jaws of defeat by scoring twice in their 2-1 defeat of Senegal in the quarter-finals.

The Nigerians have not lost at home since Algeria beat them 2-0 in a 1981 World Cup qualifier.

The 55,000 all-seater Surulere stadium will be packed to the rafters as the crowd expects to see soccer artistry at its best.

Ironically, both sides will be without key midfielders who are suspended. Nigeria's Austin Okocha and South Africa's Tinkler were both sent off in the quarter-finals.

South Africa's coach Trott Moloto has doubts about strikers Shaun Bartlett and Fortune.

Bartlett, the tournament's top scorer with four goals, has flu and Fortune is nursing an injury.

Nigeria's Victor Ikpeba, with a brace of goals in their Group D opening game against semi-finalists Tunisia, may miss this match after a row with Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere for replacing him in the 0-0 drawn game against Congo.

Ugly incidents in the Congo game, where the local fans hurled plastic bottles onto the pitch to protest their team's performance, and their invasion of the pitch in jubilation over the defeat of Senegal have further heightened security fears surrounding this match.

CAF has slammed fines totalling $7,000 on the Nigerians for the incidents. So this match must happen like it is "Ordained by the Oracle" - the title of a novel by Ghanaian writer Asare Konadu.