With the Africa Cup of Nations drawing to a close

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With the Africa Cup of Nations drawing to a close, the two most successful sides in the history of the tournament go head to head for a place in the final when host nation Cameroon take on Egypt at the Paul Biya Stadium on Thursday. Both sides last met in the final back in 2017, when the Indomitable Lions secured a 2-1 victory, and with 12 titles between them, this game has all the makings of an exciting and nerve-racking contest.

It’s a clash of two titans in the second Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final as five-time champions Cameroon, who’ve reached this stage for the ninth time, meet Egypt – the only team to have won this competition more often than them (seven times). Cameroon – the tournament hosts – are now unbeaten in nine matches (W8, D1) and are bidding to make more history having won each of their last eight AFCON semi-final outings without conceding!

Adding to the sense of occasion, these two giants of African football haven’t met since the 2017 AFCON final, a game in which Cameroon won 2-1 to end a prior seven-match winless H2H sequence (D2, L5). With the ‘Indomitable Lions’ scoring six of their last nine goals after half-time, if they’re behind at the break – as they were five years ago – they won’t be overly worried.

Also used to going the distance, Egypt won on penalties in their round of 16 victory against Ivory Coast then needed extra-time to see off Morocco 2-1 in the quarter-final. They qualified for the knockouts despite scoring just twice in the group stage (W2, L1) so although the ‘Pharaohs’ haven’t found top gear just yet, they’ve used all of their experience and guile to stay in the tournament.

That suggests that this repeat of the 2008 and 2017 AFCON finals will be another tight battle and notably, these two sides’ respective semi-finals in 2017 both produced exactly two goals, with all four strikes coming after the 70th minute. Egypt have also won each of their last six AFCON semi-finals so shouldn’t be overawed by the occasion.

Date: 03/02/2022
Time: 22:00
Venue: Stade d’Olembé (Yaoundé)
Pick for this match:
“Over 2.5 ” – @ 3.04 ( Betway )