Cameroon, Egypt exceed expectations to set up final showdown

Egypt and Cameroon prepare for Sunday’s African Cup of Nations final as two of the most successful teams on the continent play head to head for continental glory.

The Pharaohs are chasing a record eighth title which would leave them with double the amount of cups from the second most successful African nations – Ghana and Cameroon.

While Egypt has more experience than its Cameroonian opponents, coach Hector Cuper has acknowledged that his side must not be considered favorites ahead of Sunday’s showdown in Libreville.

“Cameroon has reached the final and they deserve it. They are a very strong team who play a collective game and are very disciplined. They have applied great and excellent tactics during their game. They also have skilful and talented players. We have watched the game and it is said that there are some similarities between the two teams’ style of play, but each team is different. Each team has it’s own strengths. Our problem would be in our injuries. We have lots of injuries within the team. The players are very exhausted,” said Egypt coach Hector Cuper.

Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary has acknowledged that the seven-times African champions did not end their seven-year exile from the Nations Cup with the title in mind, but are now ready to reclaim their crown in Sunday’s final against Cameroon.

“Ever since we started preparing to qualify for this edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, after being absent for the past three editions, we had in mind that we wanted to come here, make a good impression, and do our best in order to be able to reach the finals. We weren’t sure of it, but it started coming as we progressed in the competition. So, the cup and the title became our target. We the team, myself and my teammates, are one family and we have the same goal and target now, which is to win this cup,” said Hadary.

After winning an unprecedented hat-trick of Nations Cups between 2006 and 2010, Egypt failed to qualify for the next three editions of the tournament before ousting Nigeria in qualifying to reach Gabon.

They started uncertainly with a goalless stalemate against Mali and were not convincing in victories over Uganda, Ghana, Morocco and Burkina Faso, on penalties, in the semi-finals.

Cameroon coach Hugo Broos believes his methods have been vindicated as he looks to return the fallen giants to the pinnacle of the African game, an ambition that may be realized in Sunday’s Nations Cup final against Egypt.

“I started in Cameroon almost a year ago now. Before arriving there, I already had a project in my head. I had heard rumours about Cameroon, so as soon as I started, for me it was clear. I had two choices. Either do what the coaches before me had done – you don’t succeed, you quit. Or you do what you have in your head, as I have done, it doesn’t go well, and then you also quit. So it’s better to quit with your own ideas than with the ideas of others, and that has always been my motto. From the beginning I wanted to do it my way, and if it didn’t work, too bad for me. But I think that today I can say that it worked,” he said.

Cameroon’s record of four Nations Cups is bettered only by its final opponents, while it has been Africa’s pioneers in the World Cup, playing in a continental record seven tournaments and becoming the first to reach the quarterfinals in 1990.

Broos was widely criticized for his decisions ahead of the tournament, but his inexperienced side has impressed in Gabon and is one game away from winning Cameroon’s first Nations Cup since 2002.

Captain Benjamin Moukandjo also believes the team’s run has gone a long way to soothing the animosity that existed between players and fans following years of under-achievement.

Last November, people in the anglophone region of Cameroon went on strike over alleged bias in favor of the francophone majority. The English speaking regions say they are being politically and economically sidelined by the francophone government, causing tensions between the two regions to mount in recent weeks. Over 100 people were arrested and one person killed in November last year, following days of violent protests over the issue.

“I think that throughout this campaign, [Cameroonian] people took pleasure. They shared with us, even though they were far away. Evidently, we hope that the tensions ease. But of course we try to provide some enjoyment. That’s what we can do while hoping that everything can work itself out. That’s the message that I would like to give today, and we hope that tomorrow this whole country will be united and stand in solidarity to push us towards victory.”

French is spoken in eight of Cameroon’s 10 regions. Day-to-day life in the English-speaking regions has been affected following an internet ban last month – part of efforts by the government to silence growing calls for either federalism or secession in the anglophone region.