Familiar foes, Cameroon and Egypt, will battle it out Thursday night at the Olembe Stadium, Yaounde, to see who will join Senegal in the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Thursday’s tie will be the 11th AFCON encounter between the Indomitable Lions and the Pharaohs, which makes it the most played fixture in the history of the continental tournament.
While it is safe to say these two sides know themselves well enough, many are expecting an explosive encounter nonetheless, later tonight.
With five and seven AFCON titles to their name, respectively, Cameroon and Egypt are the most successful teams as far as this biennial tournament is concerned.
Road to the semis
Hosts, Cameroon registered four wins and a draw in the road to the semifinal.
They started out with a 2-1 win over Burkina Faso in their group opener, hammered Ethiopia 4-1, and were held to a 1-1 draw by Cape Verde in the group games
Against all expectations, team Cameroon was made to sweat for their 2-1 Round of 16 win over Comoros who played 83 minutes with 10 men and had a makeshift goalkeeper.
But the Lions stepped up their game in the quarter-final where they faced another debutant, the Gambia who they thumped 2-0 to set up a tasty clash against the Pharaohs.
The Pharaohs have improved since the opening day loss to Nigeria’s Super Eagles. They picked themselves up and did not concede any goal until the quarter-final against Morocco.
They beat Guinea Bissau and Sudan comfortably before needing penalties to oust Cote d’Ivoire in the round of 16. They then overcame Morocco 2-1 in extra time.
Managers’ Words
Our goal is clear; to play a good game and go to the final. We will play against a very good team, Egypt, the most successful team in Africa. They have very good players, including one of the best in the world, namely Mohamed Salah. My players are motivated to win. We have positive pressure, but our objective is clear, to win the title for the Cameroonian people.” – Antonio Conceiçao, Cameroon Manager
To reach the semifinals is a reward for us. Facing hosts Cameroon is tough as they play very good football. We want to offer the world a pleasant match between two great African teams. We are ready for this semifinal. It is true that we have played two consecutive matches with extra time, but we remain ready to play a very good match. We have the right team for this kind of game.” – Carlos Queiroz, Egypt Manager
Head-to-head at AFCON
04/03/84 Cameroon 0-1 Egypt
March 21 1986 Egypt 0-0 Cameroon
March 14 1988 Cameroon 1-0 Egypt
January 18 1996 Cameroon 2-1 Egypt
February 04 2002 Cameroon 1-0 Egypt
February 03 2004 Cameroon 0-0 Egypt
January 25 2010 Egypt 3-1 Cameroon
February 05 2017 Egypt 1-2 Cameroon
Match Details: Cameroon vs Egypt
Date: February 3, 2022
Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: Olembe Stadium, Yaoundé