Cameroon and Egypt vie for place in showdown with Senegal at Cup of Nations

The continent’s colossi Cameroon and Egypt clash on Thursday night at the Olembé Stadium for a place in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal.

Cameroon skipper Vincent Aboubakar has scored six of his country's 11 goals in their surge to the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations. Kenzo Tribouillard AFP/Archives

It will be the first match at the stadium since the fan stampede on 24 January that left eight people dead and 38 injured.

Last weekend the Confederation of African Football (Caf) which organises teh Cup of Nations received assurances from local fixers and the Cameroon government that safety measures had been tighted up at the 60-000 seat stadium to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

On the play fields, no teams have been as successful as those from Egypt and Cameroon at the tournament since its inception as a three-nation jubilee in 1957.

Egypt won the first competition and have lifted the crown six more times. Cameroon have claimed the trophy on five occasions, the last in 2017 when they beat Egypt in the final in Libreville.

More than four years on from that showdown, the duo rejoin battle evenly matched.

Cameroon finished top of their group and advanced methodically past Comoros in the last-16 and Gambia in the quarter-final while Egypt struggled in their pool registering 1-0 wins over Guinea Bissau and Sudan after a 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the opening game.

Change

But a penalty shoot-out victory over Cote d’Ivoire galvanized the squad and the ambiance around them.

An impressive 2-1 win over Morocco followed in which Mohamed Salah finally appeared to be graced with fellow forwards capable of finishing the chances he was creating.

How the Cameroon backline cope with his verve will be the key to their progress. The hope of the partisans in the Olembé will be that the 11-goal machine of Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko Ekambi continue their marksmanship.

"They are the finishers but their goals are the result of the work put in by everyone," said Cameroon coach Toni Conceicao.

Defender Collins Fai as well as midfielders Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Martin Hongla have provided the incisiveness leading to the goals.

Form

And after a shaky start, goalkeeper André Onana has begun to show the form that had lined him up for big money moves from Ajax before he was banned for a failed drugs test.

"We overcame Cote D'Ivoire and Morocco in what amounted to finals before the final," said Egypt boss Carlos Queiroz on the eve of the clash.

"And now we face another one against Cameroon." 

Around 50,000 of the local faithful will be praying it will be Egypt's last.