A cracker of a match is anticipated at Olembe Stadium when two continental heavyweights Cameroon and Egypt revive their rivalry in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations semifinals clash. The winner of the clash dubbed final before the final will face Senegal who advanced on Wednesday after humbling Burkina Faso 3-1 in the first semifinal.The hosts’ intentions have been clear from Day 1; they just want the title at home.Four wins and a draw in the road to the semifinal give The Indomitable Lions a vast amount of confidence before facing rivals Egypt for a ticket in the 6 February final. Cameroon will once again rely on the lethal attacking duo of Vincent Abubakar and Karl Toko Ekambi, who has scored all Cameroon 11 goals to the moment, six for Abubakar and one less for Ekambi.The #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 semi-finals 👇The action is never-ending! 🔁#AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/lLPyILodQV— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) February 2, 2022 Ahead of the match, Cameroon head coach Antonio Conceicao has laid bare his intention of getting over the hurdle and sail to the final. The tactician who is hoping to guide Cameroon to their sixth continental glory is however aware of the threat posed by Egypt whom he noted had world class players who are capable of crashing their dream of lifting the title on home soil.“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,” he told CAF Online.The #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 semi-finals 👇The action is never-ending! 🔁#AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/lLPyILodQV— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) February 2, 2022 The Pharaohs on the other hand seem to own almost all of AFCON historic records, but there’s one that they are desperate to extend, winning their eighth title. After a sluggish group stage campaign, Egypt rose to the expectations to oust Ivory Coast and Morocco and reach the semifinals in style. Now they have to face another tough hurdle in the form of their hosts.2.35 Cameroon 2.85 Egypt 4.00The Pharaohs will look up again to their star captain Mohamed Salah, who scored twice to the moment, and assisted the winner in the quarterfinals against Morocco.Egypt head coach Carlos Queiroz admitted that the clash will be difficult owing to the calibre of opponent they will face but expressed optimism that his players will get the job done.“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 games,” he told CAF media.Our first finalist is decided 🦁 Who will join #TeamSenegal in the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 final? #AFCON2021 | @1xBet_Eng— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) February 2, 2022 Match day notebookThis will be the 11th Africa Cup of Nations encounter between Egypt and Cameroon; no two teams have met on more occasions in the competition’s history.● Egypt have won three of their last four Africa Cup of Nations games against Cameroon (L1), scoring nine goals, this after netting just twice across their previous six encounters against the Indomitable Lions in the competition (W1 D2 L3).● Cameroon have progressed from seven of their nine semi-final matches at the Africa Cup of Nations, only opponents Egypt (8) have made it through this round more often in AFCON history.● The Africa Cup of Nations hosts have been eliminated in three of their last five semi-final matches in the competition, with Egypt the last such team to progress from this round (2-1 against Senegal in 2006).● Since the beginning of 2017, no player has been directly involved in more goals (9) at the Africa Cup of Nations than Egypt’s Salah (six goals, three assists) or Cameroon’s Aboubakar (seven goals, two assists).
