Egypt and Cameroon’s roads to the final - AFCON 2017

The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations will be won by either Egypt or Cameroon, two teams that were not considered favourites coming into the continental showdown in Gabon.

While Egypt had failed to qualify for the past three editions, their opponents travelled to Gabon deprived of the services of key Europe-based players, who opted to commit to their clubs at the expense of the Indomitable Lions.
Fast forward, both teams have defied all odds to qualify for the final game that will be played on Sunday at the Stade de l’Amitie, Libreville.
Here’s a recap of the two teams’ journey so far.

Egypt’s road to the final
The Pharaohs were in the tournament’s group of death, pooled alongside Ghana, Mali and Uganda.
The North Africans had a slow start to their campaign, drawing 0-0 with Mali.
They went on to beat Uganda and Ghana by one goal each to finish top of the group, and were joined by Ghana in the quarter-finals stage.
Egypt was pitted against fellow North Africans Morocco, but were up to the task, winning again by a solitary goal.

It wasn’t until the semi-final stage that the Egyptian defence was breached, when Burkina Faso scored to equalize, forcing the game into extra time, and into a penalty shoot-out, where veteran goalkeeper Essam El Hadary saved two penalties to take his side to the final.
Sunday’s showdown against Cameroon will be a record-equalling ninth AFCON final for the Egypt side. Ghana is the other team to have nine final appearances.
The Egyptians will be buoyed by the fact that they beat Cameroon the last time they met in an AFCON final in 2008.

Key players
Team captain and veteran goalkeeper Essam El Hadary has proven himself to be an invaluable gem in the Egyptian side. The 44-year-old has only conceded once in the Gabon games, and is chasing a fifth AFCON title.

AS Roma midfielder Mohamed Salah  has scored two of The Pharaohs’ four goals in the tournament and is a constant threat to opposing defenders. Cameroon must find a way to silence him.
Mohamed El Neny, though still a doubt for the final game, has been a key contributor to the Egyptian cause. The Arsenal midfielder is capable of dictating the midfield and marshalling forwards to maraud oppositions’ defences. If Egypt are able to have him in the final game, he will provide more balance to the team, and deliver more balls to the forwards.

Cameroon’s road to the final
The Indomitable Lions journey to the final has been close to anything but easy.
Coming into the tournament, coach Hugo Broos was disappointed by seven players’ rejection of his call-ups for the AFCON duty, preferring to commit to their clubs over their country. The result was that the Indomitable Lions headed into the tournament with a number of vastly inexperienced players, particularly in defence.

Cameroon also began their title quest in slow fashion, drawing 1-1 with Burkina Faso. Their second group game was more productive as they beat Guinea Bissau 2-1. The final group game came against hosts Gabon, who had to win in order to progress into the quarter-finals. The Cameroonians played cautiously, seeing the game out in a 0-0 draw. That meant the Indomitable Lions proceeded into the quarters as group runners up.

Cameroon was pitted against tournament favourites Senegal, boasting of star players like Sadio Mane, Mame Biram Diouf and Mame Biram Diouf. They played to a draw here too, before beating the Teranga Lions in a penalty shot-out.
This saw them go on to meet Ghana in the semi-finals, where they won 2-0 to book a ticket for Sunday’s showdown in Libreville.

Should the Indomitable Lions win on Sunday, the key players that rejected Broos’ call-ups would have missed on a coveted continental glory.
The game will also provide the Cameroonians with a perfect opportunity to revenge the 2008 loss to Egypt.

Fabrice Ondoa has been a revelation between the posts. At only 21 years old, the shot-stopper has been able to carry the heavy weight of guarding the Cameroonian goal-line almost perfectly. He has conceded only two goals in the tournament, despite Cameroon’s defence being just a patch-up.
Adolphe Teikeu has also been a stand-out in the Indomitable Lions team, always ready to put his body on the line.
One fact to note too is that all of Cameroon’s goals in the tournament have come from different players.