THE INDOMITABLE LIONS OF CAMEROON CROWNED KINGS OF AFRICA

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have been crowned the champions of the 31st Edition of the African Cup of Nations for the 5th time. They greeted a first title since 2002 with a cacophony of noise, and celebrations that will last long into the night in Libreville.
It had all looked so different when Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny put the Pharaohs ahead midway through the first half.

 

Elneny has been under pressure from the Egyptian press, after a slow start to the tournament followed by an injury-enforced absence.

But the goal he scored was quite brilliant, both individually and from Egypt as a team.

The Arsenal man collected the ball inside his own half in the 22nd minute and urged his team-mates forward, frustrated by the lack of movement in front of him.

He surged into Cameroon territory before playing the ball to Mohamed Salah. Salah, Elneny and Amr Warda exchanged passes down the left before the former Chelsea winger fed a perfect pass in to Elneny who had continued into the box.



Fabrice Ondoa should not have been beaten at his near post, but he, like everyone else, expected a cross – instead Elneny slammed the ball high into the net, a superb finish to round off a magnificently worked goal.

At that point the lead was well-deserved, with Egypt happy to give up the majority of possession, but far more dangerous when they did have the ball.

Abdallah Said had already forced Ondoa into a good save in just the second minute, and Salah was a constant threat down the right, as the Pharaohs looked to use the Roma man’s pace on the break.



They may also have been aided by an injury to Adolphe Teikeu, who needed to be replaced at centre-half, and may well have been struggling in the build-up to the goal. Certainly he had been slow to get to Elneny inside the box, and was taken off nine minutes later.

Protected by Elneny and Tarek Hamed, the centre-back pairing of Ahmed Hegazy and Ali Gabr were once again excellent in the first half, limiting Cameroon to long shots that never troubled Essam El-Hadary.

Cameroon created nothing in the first half but in the second they were relentless and fully deserved to win. The captain Moukandjo, who played a huge part and created the equaliser.

It wasn’t all bad news for the Indomitable Lions though, because it was Teikeu’s replacement, N’Koulou, who equalized just before the hour mark, rising to meet Benjamin Moukandjo’s perfect cross and thump a header into the corner.

Benjamin Moukandjo sent a cross into the middle of the keepers box that found the substitute Nkoulou who jumpes highest to send the ball ino the Egyptians net for the first time.

N’Koulou remains a hugely popular player with Cameroon fans, despite the surprising decision taken by Hugo Broos to leave him out of the starting XI for much of this tournament, and his goal brought the game to life. 



It was just the spark Cameroon needed. Up to that point the men in green, so exciting in their attacking play in the semi-final, hadn’t been able to repeat the trick. They tried, with Christian Bassogog, named player of the tournament after the game, and Moukandjo drifting inside to try and involve themselves, but Egypt’s solid defence, the best in the tournament by a distance, looked unbreachable.



Vincent Aboubakar’s strike was a goal worthy of any great Cameroonian striker, as Samuel Eto’o, who celebrated wildly in the stands, would surely attest. That it came in the closing seconds of an Africa Cup of Nations final only made it more special.

Had there been a roof on this stadium, the response to the goal would have lifted it off. All but a couple of thousand of the 40,000 fans in the Stade de l’Amitie were supporting the underdogs, in part because of the ease of travel from the neighbouring country, and also because so many of Gabon’s 500,000 immigrants are from Cameroon.



There were shades of Paul Gascoigne at Wembley as the Besiktas striker controlled a long ball, flicked it with his heel over Ali Gabr, and thumped a volley into the corner of the net, ending Egypt’s dreams of an eighth Cup of Nations.

It was a goal that deserved to win any game, any tournament, anywhere in the world, at any time.



The result confirms Cameroon's place at the Confederations Cup, of course. Egypt simply ran out of steam at the last. The corner where their fans were perched now stands desolate, the players dejected as they wait to collect their runners-up medals.

Cameroon manager Hugo Broos deserves credit for making those changes, with Vincent Aboubakar scoring the winning goal which confirms their return as a super power of African football.



This will give them a real shot in the arm going into the World Cup qualifying campaign.

They were somewhat fortunate to get through the group stages, but their resilience and qualities have been a breath of fresh air, and it is their captain Benjamin Moukandjo - named player of the match - who lifts the trophy.




Congratulations to the Indomitable Lions on their fifth title!

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