Egypt, Cameroon Go for Broke in Tomorrow’s Final

After four weeks of raw but intriguing football actions, the curtains would be drawn on the African Cup of Nations on Sunday at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon
The most successful team in Africa Cup of Nations history meet a team that have, somewhat surprisingly, never won it as Egypt take on Senegal at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon in Sunday’s final.

Egypt have lifted the trophy on seven occasions and will be looking to make it eight after knocking hosts Cameroon out on penalties in Thursday’s semi-final.
Senegal, meanwhile, have benefited from a fairly kind route to the final and overcame Burkina Faso 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Intriguingly, the two nations have also been drawn against each other in next month’s World Cup qualifying playoffs, so this match represents the start of what could be an enthralling trilogy. And, of course, it pits Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Mo Salah in direct opposition.
Egypt have been to extra-time in all three of their knockout stage matches so far and have had 24 hours less than their opponents to prepare for Sunday’s final.

That could see Carlos Queiroz forced to freshen things up, though he will himself be missing from the touchline after being sent off during the semi-final win over Cameroon.
Neither side have lit up the tournament with amazing football but both have shown plenty of nous to get this far.

Egypt’s exertions to get this far may finally catch up with them, however, Senegal is highly fancied to carry the day.
Fresh off the back of a gruesome semi-final defeat at the hands of Egypt, Africa Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon lock horns with Burkina Faso at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in the third-place playoff today.

The Stallions, on the other hand, fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Senegal in Wednesday’s last-four clash and will head into this game desperate to get one over Cameroon having failed to taste victory in any of the last five meetings between the sides.
After a sloppy start to the Africa Cup of Nations, Burkina Faso will feel satisfied with their performance at the tournament as they could walk away with the Bronze medal today. Kamou Malo’s side were denied a dream start to the tournament in their opening game, when they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cameroon when Vincent Aboubakar struck twice to cancel out Gustavo Sangare’s 24th-minute opener and hand the host nation all three points.

However, Burkina Faso bounced back to winning ways four days later when they edged out Cape Verde 1-0 in a nervy contest before wrapping things up in the group stages with a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia.
With four points from three games, the Stallions finished as runners-up in Group A, three points off group winners Cameroon and level on points with Cape Verde, who also progressed as one of the four best third-placed sides.

Heading into the knockout stages as one of the underdogs, the West Africans were then held to a 1-1 draw by a resilient Gabon side in their round-of-16 clash before going on to win the game 7-6 on penalties.

Burkina Faso continued their fairytale run at the tournament as they claimed a surprise 1-0 victory over Tunisia in the quarter-finals last Saturday courtesy of Dango Ouattara’s solitary strike on the stroke of half time.
However, Malo’s side were denied a second final appearance since 2013, when they were beaten 1-0 by Nigeria, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Senegal in in their semi-finals four days later.

Following a drab first-half, the game was sparked to life after the interval as Abdou Diallo and Ahmadou Bamba Dieng scored in a six-minute spell to put the Senegalese two goals up, and after Ibrahim Blati Toure pulled one back in the 82nd minute, Sadio Mane scored his third goal of the tournament to restore the Lions of Teranga’s two-goal advantage.

Burkina Faso head into Wednesday’s game unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 games across all competitions, scoring 18 goals and keeping five clean sheets in that time.
On the other hand, for all the promise shown throughout the course of the tournament, Cameroon will feel somewhat disappointed all the same as they will now have to settle for a third-placed finish at best.

Following a fine run in the qualifiers, where they finished top of Group F after claiming 11 points from six games, the Indomitable Lions secured smooth passage to the Africa Cup of Nations proper.
Riding on the wave of support from the home crowd, the Central Africans got the tournament underway in style when they came from behind to claim a 2-1 win over today’s opponents when they met in Group A. Toni Conceicao’s men turned in another fine show of class four days later when they came from behind to secure a comprehensive 4-1 win over Ethiopia, before holding out for a 1-1 draw in their group finale against Cape Verde.

Finishing top of Group A with seven points from three games, Cameroon got the ball rolling in the knockout stages on January 24 when they saw off a dogged Comoros side 2-1 courtesy of goals in either half from Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko Ekambi.

The Olympique Lyon forward was at it again in the quarter-finals as he struck twice in the second half against Gambia five days later to hand his side a second last-four appearance in five years.
However, Cameroon’s charge for a sixth Africa Cup of Nations title came to an end on Thursday when they were beaten on penalties by Egypt following a goalless 120 minutes at the Paul Biya Stadium.

In a cagey affair between the two most decorated sides in the history of the competition, Conceicao’s side were guilty of wasteful finishing as they failed to tuck away their chances and with nothing separating the sides after extra time, the Pharaohs claimed a 3-1 win on penalties.
This fine run has been in no small part owing to their impressive display at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have scored 20 goals in that time, while managing four clean sheets at the opposite end of the pitch.

Next up for Cameroon is an opposing side who they are unbeaten against in each of the last five encounters between the sides since 2015, claiming three draws and two wins, including a 2-1 win in the group stages, and they will feel confident of coming away with the desired result today.