The Paul Biya Stadium in Olembe, Cameroon will be set on fire this Thursday when hosts, Cameroon take on Egypt in one of the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Both sides are ‘Super Powers’ in African football. This encounter is definitely a final before the final.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have won the AFCON five times while their opponents Egypt are the most successful team in the AFCON with seven titles.
Both sides have met in three AFCON finals with Egypt winning twice and Cameroon winning once-in their last meeting in the 2017 final in Gabon. Two second half goals by substitutes, Nicolas Nkoulou and Vincent Aboubakar cancelled out Mohamed Elneny’s first half goal and gave Cameroon their fifth title.
Cameroon have had a better performance in the tournament so far. They defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in their opening match before they hammered Ethiopia 4-1. With a round of 16 ticket already in their kitty, the Indomitable Lions took their foot of the pedal and drew their last group game 1-1 with Cape Verde Island.
They faced debutants, Comoros Island and Gambia in the round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively and they emerged victorious with a 2-1 and 2-0 score lines.
The Pharaohs of Egypt, on their part, had the worst of starts as they lost 1-0 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria before they defeated Guinea-Bissau and Sudan by lone goals to qualify for the knock-out stage.
The seven time champions defeated the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire on penalties before they earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over their North African brothers Morocco in the quarter final.
The winner of this clash will take on the Teranga Lions of Senegal, who defeated the Stallions of Burkina Faso 3-1 in the first semi-final played on Wednesday.
