The 2008 AFCON reaches its climax on Sunday evening as two of Africa’s all-time heavyweights battle it out at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra. Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions get the perfect opportunity to revenge against their Egyptian counterparts who so embarrassingly disjointed them in the two teams’ opening Group C match.
Egypt come into the game from a phenomenal victory against clear tournament favorites Ivory Coast on Wednesday night. A 4-1 thumping of the 2006 runner’s up means that the Pharaohs stand a chance to increase their AFCON tally to a record six wins. After slaughtering a bull before their quarter-final match against Angola, it seems the gods have been smiling on them as everything they work on upfront seems to turn into goals. An emphatic win over Ivory Coast will definitely act as a morale booster in what should be a tightly contested match.
The Cameroonians will go into the game as underdogs, something of an advantage nowadays. A late red card for Reading defender Andre Baikey means that the four-time African champions will be without a key player in the final. Apart from that shake-up in defense, Cameroon should look to build from their previous performance as they seem to be getting better with every game. They saw off the hosts Ghana with a much disciplined performance after coach Otto Pfister had promised to “paralyze the Black Stars tactically”.
And that’s exactly what they will need to do if they are to salvage anything out of the game on Sunday. Egypt themselves are no slouches when it comes to tactical panel-beating. Their organization and professionalism were the key to unlocking the usually niggardly Ivorian defense. With playmaker Mohammad Abou Trika expected to start in the middle, the Lions will have to be on the guard. Arsenal centre-half Alexandre Song will have to be in top-form in order to come up with the answers to the Egyptian’s teasing questions.
Upfront, Barcelona’s lethal weapon Samuel Eto’o will have to step-up his game after having a less-than impressive tournament so far, by his standards. He will be relied upon to come up with something special, a moment or two of individual brilliance perhaps, if Cameroon is to penetrate the solid wall that is the Egyptian defense led by Al-Ahly rear guard Shady Muhammad.
Egypt will be looking at exploiting Cameroon’s notoriously slow and rigid defense, especially on the flanks. Wednesday’s two-goal hero Amr Zaki and Emad Motaeb will be relying on the services of Abou Trika in the middle and Hosny Abd-Rabou on the left hand side. Hamburger SV defender Timothee Atouba will be the main target, and if they fail to fire in the first half, then exciting striker Mohammad Zidan will be itching to come on from the bench.
Prediction
Egypt 3-1 Cameroon
Egypt come into the game from a phenomenal victory against clear tournament favorites Ivory Coast on Wednesday night. A 4-1 thumping of the 2006 runner’s up means that the Pharaohs stand a chance to increase their AFCON tally to a record six wins. After slaughtering a bull before their quarter-final match against Angola, it seems the gods have been smiling on them as everything they work on upfront seems to turn into goals. An emphatic win over Ivory Coast will definitely act as a morale booster in what should be a tightly contested match.
The Cameroonians will go into the game as underdogs, something of an advantage nowadays. A late red card for Reading defender Andre Baikey means that the four-time African champions will be without a key player in the final. Apart from that shake-up in defense, Cameroon should look to build from their previous performance as they seem to be getting better with every game. They saw off the hosts Ghana with a much disciplined performance after coach Otto Pfister had promised to “paralyze the Black Stars tactically”.
And that’s exactly what they will need to do if they are to salvage anything out of the game on Sunday. Egypt themselves are no slouches when it comes to tactical panel-beating. Their organization and professionalism were the key to unlocking the usually niggardly Ivorian defense. With playmaker Mohammad Abou Trika expected to start in the middle, the Lions will have to be on the guard. Arsenal centre-half Alexandre Song will have to be in top-form in order to come up with the answers to the Egyptian’s teasing questions.
Upfront, Barcelona’s lethal weapon Samuel Eto’o will have to step-up his game after having a less-than impressive tournament so far, by his standards. He will be relied upon to come up with something special, a moment or two of individual brilliance perhaps, if Cameroon is to penetrate the solid wall that is the Egyptian defense led by Al-Ahly rear guard Shady Muhammad.
Egypt will be looking at exploiting Cameroon’s notoriously slow and rigid defense, especially on the flanks. Wednesday’s two-goal hero Amr Zaki and Emad Motaeb will be relying on the services of Abou Trika in the middle and Hosny Abd-Rabou on the left hand side. Hamburger SV defender Timothee Atouba will be the main target, and if they fail to fire in the first half, then exciting striker Mohammad Zidan will be itching to come on from the bench.
Prediction
Egypt 3-1 Cameroon
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