In that single victory the Egyptians jolted all the experts who neglected them in their prognostics. On the part of the Lions it was supposed to be a verification of the stigma of being too old yet they woke up got rejuvenated and today they are in the final just as they were in 1986 in Cairo when it took  5-4 penalty kicks to give the trophy to Egypt.

Right from match day one Egypt had come all out to announce their seriousness while Cameroun has mentally overcome an initial shock to grind her way to the final. Aside the 4-2 victory over Cameroun, the emphatic  demolition of  tournament favourites Cote Divoire more than anything else propelled Egypt as the front runner for the coveted trophy.

Tactical collectivity, alternative short passes and intermittent long thrusts that takes adversaries unawares are some of the attributes that have unveiled Egypt as the most accomplished team of this tournament. In the semi final not only was Egypt on top of its attacking prowess it displayed an uncanny mastery of the defence when it soaked the Ivorian pressure and counter attacked to its advantage.

The Indomitable Lions as always, never had an easy way to the final. After the demolition by Egypt it went through two relatively easy matches against Zambia and Sudan. In the quarter final after a commendable start, it took extra time to oust Tunisia while in the semi final the defensive duo of Song and Bikey heroically kept the Ghanains at bay till the 70th minute when debutant Alain Nkong scored the goal that sent them to the final.

If you were looking for aesthetics then not in the Lions camp. What we have witnessed so far is a team that has marched on through strength of character, experience, temperament and a warriors disposition that may lose a battle yet conscious of the fact the battle is still on. Curiously the statistics of the two teams are very similar as they have scored 14 goals each while conceding five(Egypt) and six for Cameroun.

While the Egyptians will come into the final complete ,the Ivoriens will miss the services of a key element in Andre Bikey who got himself red carded in an off the field situation against Ghana.Question for Otto Pfister , who replaces Bikey? He says he has three alternatives including the pairing of uncle Song with little nephew Alexandre.

The Egyptians start as favourites  thanks to their quality football just as the Camerounians do not mind the tag of underdogs putting Samuel Etoo out of pressure especially in relation to his non performance in the quarter and semi final matches,( but for that killer pass against Ghana.)

If the Lions win they would have equaled Egypts record at five ,if not the Pharaos will take an unassailable lead.

ROAD TO THE FINAL.

Egypt-Cameroun 4-2

Egypt-Sudan 3-0

Egypt-Zambia1-1

Egypt-Angola 2-1(quarter final)

Egypt-Cote dIvoire 4-1(semi final)

Cameroun-Egypt 2-4

Cameroun-Zambia 5-1

Cameroun-Sudan 3-0

Cameroun-Tunisia 3-2(after extra time)quarter final

Cameroun-Ghana 1-0 (semi final)

PAST MEETINGS

1984-Egypt-Cameroun 1-0

1986-Egypt-Cameroun 0-0 (5-4 pen)final

1988-Cameroun-Egypt 1-0

1996-Cameroun-Egypt 1-0(quarter final)

2004-Cameroun-Egypt0-0

2008-Egypt-Camroun 4-2


Go to the Ghana CAN 2008 page

Go to the fixture & result overview

Keywords: ghana_can