Two Liverpool greats could face each other in the African Cup of Nations final, as Sadio Mane scored to help Senegal beat Burkina Faso 3-1 last night. Mohamed Salah could make the final a Merseyside matchup if he can guide his Egypt side to victory over tournament hosts Cameroon tonight.
Kick-off between the two sides is at 7pm GMT at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.
HISTORY OF THE FIXTURE: FINAL BATTLES
2017: Long term revenge
The fixture will be a rematch of the tournament’s final in 2017, where Cameroon became the second most successful nation in AFCON history, as they won their fifth title. The game ended 2-1 to the Indomitable Lions, as Vincent Aboubakar scored the winner in the 88th minute. Nicolas Nkoulou had equalised for Cameroon after Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny scored after 22 minutes.
2008: Lets talk about six
Having thrashed the Ivory Coast 4-1 in the Semi-Final thanks to goals from Ahmed Fathy, Mohamed Aboutrika and a double from then Wigan forward Amir Zaki; Egypt were favourites to win an unprecedented sixth title. Just two years after winning their fifth AFCON.
Cameroon had defeated tournament hosts Ghana in the semis 1-0 with Alain Nkong scoring the only goal.
The Pharaohs were able to keep tournament top scorer Samuel Eto’o quiet in the final, with the sole goal of the final coming from Aboutrika after excellent work from Mohamed Zidan.
Player to Watch
Vincent Aboubakar
Aboubakar, the Cameroon captain, will be most known for his time in Portugal with Porto, where he scored 58 goals in 125 matches, including five in the Group Stage of the 2017/2018 Champions League. Having been linked with West Ham United throughout the January transfer window, the interest has always been high in Europe. Despite this, Aboubakar moved to Al Nasser in the Saudi Arabian Premier League last summer.
At six-foot tall, Aboubakar combines immense power and strength with surprisingly quick feet. His willingness to pick up the ball short and combine with teammates makes him hard for defences to track, and when on the ball almost impossible to physically deal with.
He has also been critical of Egypt captain Mo Salah.
TEAM NEWS
With strikers Karl Toko Ekambi and competition top-scorer Vincent Aboubakar in top form, it seems unlikely that experienced coach Toni Conceição will make changes to the Cameroon side that beat The Gambia, with no new reported injuries. The duo of Aboubakar and Ekambi, who have scored or assisted all of Cameroon’s 12 goals at the tournament, have been pivotal in their journey so far and will certainly play another big role on Thursday.
Aboubakar, who is currently the competition’s highest goalscorer with six goals, also has one assist to his name, while the Olympique Lyon forward is one goal shy having netted five so far.
Egypt’s biggest issues are in goal. Mohamed El Shenawy and Mohamed Abou Gabal have each picked up injuries during the knockout rounds, pressing Mohamed Sobhy into an international debut off the bench against Morocco. The 22-year old may be called into the starting 11 for the final.
PREDICTION
It is 12 years since Egypt secured the most recent of their seven titles, but with the vastly experienced Carlos Quieroz assembling a strong defence and Mohamed Salah providing plenty of threat further forward. Salah has not had the best of tournaments so far, but came alive with a goal and assist in the 2-1 quarter-final extra-time win over Morocco.
Cameroon had a scare in the round of 16, only beating Comoros 2-1, who had left-back Chaker Alhadur in goal, and were reduced to 10-men inside the first eight minutes.
Score Predicion:
Cameroon 1-1 Egypt
Cameroon win 6-5 on penalties
