By John Essien
Two of the most successful sides in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will go head to head for a place in the final when host nation Cameroon take on Egypt at the Paul Biya Stadium on Thursday.
Both sides last met in the final back in 2017, when the Indomitable Lions secured a 2-1 victory, and with 12 titles between them, this game has all the makings of an exciting and nerve-racking contest.
With the home crowd cheering them on, Cameroon have enjoyed a sensational Africa Cup of Nations campaign and will feel confident in their chances of reaching a second final in five years.
Five-times champion, Cameroon reached the semi-finals after defeating tournament debutants, The Gambia’s Scopians 2-0 in the quarter-final clash on Saturday.
Vincent Aboubakar (six goals) and Karl Toko Ekambi (five goals) are the leading goalscorers in this year’s tournament and they could be key to the Indomitable Lions’ punching a final ticket.
On the other hand, while this might not be Egypt’s best performance in the history of the tournament, they will be delighted to have made it this far all the same after several unconvincing performances.
The Pharaohs will rely on their inspirational skipper Mohammed Salah who is in top form at the moment having converted decisive spot-kick against Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals, before scoring and providing an assist in their win over Morocco.
The North Africans have scored just four goals in the tournament, but their defensive show of class has played a huge role in their journey so far as they have kept three clean sheets and conceded just two in five games.
They head into Thursday’s game as the most decorated side on the continent with a record seven Africa Cup of Nations triumphs and they will look to repeat their 2010 run, when they went all the way before defeating Ghana 1-0 in the final.
The last meeting between Cameroon and Egypt was on 5 February 2017.
Cameroon secured a 2-1 win over Egypt in the 2017 AFCON final which was played at the Stade d’Angondjé in Gabon.
Winner of today’s clash will face Senegal on Sunday, 6th February 2022.
How Senegal Defeated Burkina Faso
Meanwhile, The Heritage Times had earlier reported that Senegal advanced into the final following a 3-1 win over Burkina Faso at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde on Wednesday night.
Abdoulaye Diallo finished off a corner kick to give Senegal the lead before Bamba Dieng doubled the lead six minutes later.
While Toure pulled one back for the Stallions, Mane chipped in to seal victory with his 29th international goal that saw him become Senegal’s joint all-time scorer as Coach Aliou Cisse’s men qualified for their second consecutive AFCON final.
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