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Cameroon revival, as favourites fall (08.02.2008)
Andrew Hush
It`s not the final that was predicted but, on Sunday, Cameroon and Egypt will battle it out for the right to call themselves the 2008 African Cup of Nations champions. Two squads that showed increasing depth as the tournament progressed and who are both coached by cerebral minds, will pit their wits against each other in Accra.
Since a floundering start to the tournament that resulted in a 4-2 thrashing at the hands of Egypt, Cameroon have turned their fortunes around to the point that the Indomitable Lions now stand one game away from winning their third Cup of Nations since 2000.
There are two main reasons for the resurrection of Otto Pfister`s side. First, since the defensive disaster that was their first match, Cameroon have conceded just three goals in four games as a backline inspired by goalkeeper, Carlos Kameni and veteran defender, Rigobert Song, have ironed out the early problems that threatened to derail their campaign before it got properly underway.
Greater reliability at the back has been the catalyst for the second key factor in the renewed roar of the Lions. With the impressive youngster Alexandre Song offering a protective blanket to the back four, Cameroon`s attacking players have been afforded greater licence to roam forwards.
The result has been that no longer do Cameroon rely so desperately on Samuel Eto`o. The Barcelona striker scored half of his country`s goals in the group stages but his failure to find the net since has had no negative effect. Eto`o has continued to be effective but, with his role more one of assisting, in the last two games other players have stepped up to apply vital finishing touches.
Never were these two reasons for success more in evidence than against Ghana. Taking advantage of a host nation that was forced into a number of key changes due to suspension, injury and loss of form, Cameroon thoroughly deserved their win.
At the back, Rigobert Song led a defence that were only too willing to put its collective body on the line in the way of Ghanaian shots. Geremi was particularly effective in denying a goalbound effort by Andre Ayew while, behind him, Kameni`s best moment came when he denied Junior Agogo in the closing minutes, shortly after Cameroon had taken the lead.
After a first half in which Geremi struck the bar with the latest from his catalogue of free-kicks and Achille Emana fired just over, Pfister made a substitution just past the hour that paid dividends for Cameroon within ten minutes.
Prior to this tournament, Alain Nkong had last represented his country eight years ago and the journeyman striker, whose career has featured stops in Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, USA and Mexico, showed what Cameroon had been missing when he clinically finished a sumptuous move that covered three quarters of the pitch.
It was a classic counter-attacking strike that cut a swathe through the Ghanaian defence, which featured little of the cohesion seen earlier in the tournament. The suspension of John Mensah necessitated a move for Michael Essien to centre-back, meaning Sulley Muntari`s effectiveness in midfield was diminished markedly. The task for the hosts was made harder still by the injury suffered by Laryea Kingston in the pre-game warm-up.
Up front, meanwhile, Asamoah Gyan had been dropped in favour of Andre Ayew. The son of Ghana legend, Abedi Pele, Ayew showed glimpses of his talent in the first half with his direct running style but, much like the man whose place he took, was largely an intermittent threat and faded badly after the break.
Alongside, the hard-working but limited Junior Agogo was well marshaled by the Indomitable Lions backline. On the rare occasion he did find space, the Nottingham Forest man missed badly with a free header.
A goalscorer is the most critical need for the Black Stars in the future and Ghana will continue to fall just short of reaching the `Promised Land` on their own continent and beyond, while their squad is as shallow as it currently is below its first eleven players.
Cameroon, meanwhile, have their talisman but are proving that there is more to their make-up than Eto`o. In contrast to Ghana, whose overall displays went hand-in-hand with the performances
of Essien and Muntari, Pfister has a squad that has proved its ability to win games in different ways.
Though the idiotic Andre Bikey will be a loss after his issue with one of the stadium`s medical staff led to a red card, the Indomitable Lions, written off just over a fortnight ago, now have the opportunity to pen the final words in this year`s Cup of Nations.
Their Group C meeting was the latest in the history between Cameroon and Egypt. Indeed, this final will not be the first time the countries have met with the Cup of Nations at stake. In 1986, the Pharaohs won on penalties after a goalless draw.
Egypt won through to their second straight final with one of the most complete performances the tournament has seen. From front to back, the defending champions were simply too good for Ivory Coast, in a clear example of the value of the sum of the parts being greater than any single individual.
Entering the match, the omens for Ivory Coast were good. Averaging over three goals per game at the attacking end, coach Gerard Gili was able to strengthen his back four by recalling Kolo Toure, allowing Didier Zokora to move forward into his regular midfield role. Meanwhile, Egypt entered the game without Mohamed Zidan, their star forward, who was restricted by injury to a role off the bench.
However, in Hassan Shehata, Egypt has a coach that knows how to beat Ivory Coast. With twelve of the squad that twice defeated the Elephants en route to the 2006 Cup of Nations title including in the tournament`s final in his squad for this year`s competition, the Egyptian boss knew that history was on his side.
Despite the quality of opposition, Shehata`s game plan remained the same as that which had been followed in each of Egypt`s previous games. A formation and playing style predicated on scoring the game`s first goal had paid dividends four times and, from the moment Ahmed Fathy`s deflected shot eluded Boubacar Barry to put Egypt ahead, Ivory Coast had a pyramid to climb.
The Elephants showed their class in carving out a number of presentable chances but were foiled by another essential element of Egypt`s system as goalkeeper, Essem El-Hadary, pulled off a string of key saves. One, to deny Didier Drogba shortly after half-time, was a magnificent reflex reaction to an almost perfect downward header.
As the Ivory Coast pushed forward in increasing numbers, Egypt sought to counter, in search of a decisive blow. Two years ago, Amr Zaky scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Senegal and the striker repeated the trick with a brace of goals around the game`s three-quarter mark, which rendered Kader Keita`s goal no more than a spectacular consolation. `The Magician`, Mohamed Aboutreika, applied the coup de grace, on the break again, to put the exclamation mark on the final score.
Much as will Ghana, so Ivory Coast`s stars will enter Saturday`s third-place playoff wondering why they are not preparing for the final. At the worst possible time, the Elephants imploded at both ends of the field.
Conceding two almost identical goals proved the beginning of the end for Ivory Coast. Twice Egyptian corners were only half-cleared and twice the ultimate price was paid. Egypt`s third and fourth goals can be put down to simply getting caught on the break. By that time, the damage had been done.
Losing Barry to injury meant Gili had to waste a substitute on replacing his goalkeeper, but this was a game that was lost on the field rather than between the posts. While the defence failed to function, Drogba, though his usual busy self up front, failed to take the chances he had. Meanwhile, Salomon Kalou was non-existent with only Keita able to consistently threaten the well-organized Egyptians.
Sunday`s final will see Cameroon, a side that has reinvented itself during the tournament; face Egypt, whose plan has remained the same throughout. It will be an intriguing battle and one which may be won and lost as much in the corresponding technical areas as between the white lines.
Whatever the outcome, the 2008 Cup of Nations has served up a feast of football and the final course has the potential to be the tastiest yet.
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