Egypt win Africa Cup of Nations for record third consecutive time
By the end it all felt very familiar. There again was the goalkeeper, Essam El Hadary, bouncing up and down on the crossbar. There again was the coach, Hassan Shehata, being thrown in the air by his players like a birthday boy being given the bumps. And there, yet again, was Ahmed Hassan, receiving the cup from Issa Hayatou, raising it and pointing his finger in the air in thanks to Allah. As it was in Cairo, as it was in Accra, so it was again in Luanda.
By winning an unprecedented third consecutive Cup of Nations, this Egypt side have confirmed their place in history. They will not be at this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa but this may be the best team Africa has produced. Records were broken or extended wherever you looked.
This is Egypt's seventh title, three more than their nearest challengers, Cameroon and Ghana, who must now live in the knowledge that they have only won as many as Hassan, Egypt's remarkable captain. Five other players – This is Egypt's seventh title, three more than their nearest challengers, Cameroon and Ghana, who must now live in the knowledge that they have won only as many as Hassan, Egypt's remarkable captain. Five other players – El Hadary, Hany Said, Wael Gomaa, Ahmed Fathy and Emad Meteeb – played in all three finals, while Shehata who, after 18 games, is still unbeaten in the competition, equalled the Ghanaian CK Gyamfi's record of three titles as coach.
As in those previous two finals Egypt were not especially convincing. They were the best team in the tournament and deserved their success but they were perhaps fortunate that a youthful Ghana could not find penetration to match their passing. Asamoah Gyan, a figure reborn in this competition, toiled heroically alone up front but their coach, Milovan Rajevac, will know he was left too isolated. Only with a couple of free-kicks, one just too high and one flapped uneasily wide by El Hadary, did they go close.
The game, in the end, was decided by the prolific substitute Mohamed Gedo, who took his tally for the tournament to five and confirmed himself as top scorer, as he played a one-two with Mohamed Zidan, advanced into the box and curled a precise finish beyond Richard Kingson. There were Ghanaian tears at the end, but Rajevac's side are too gifted, too matureThere were Ghanaian tears at the end, but Rajevac's side are too gifted, too mature to fade away, and will surely be back. This Egypt, though, perhaps will not. This has been one of the greatest of all generations, but, as their general manager Samir Adly acknowledged, the sense is that the sun may be setting on their golden age.Ghana (4-2-3-1) Kingson; Inkoom, Addy, Vorsah, Sarpei; Agyemang-Badu; Annan; D Ayew, Asamoah; Opoku (Addo 89); Gyan (Adiyiah 87).
Egypt (3-5-2) El Hadary; Fathy (Moatasem 90), H Said, Gomaa; El Mohamady, A Hassan, Ghaly, Hosny, Moawad (Abdelshafi 57); Zidan, Meteeb (Nagui 70).
Egypt win Africa Cup of Nations for record third consecutive time
Egypt claimed an unprecedented third successive Africa Cup of Nations title thanks to a 1-0 win over Ghana in Luanda. The substitute Mohamed Gedo scored the winner five minutes from full time after playing a one-two with Mohamed Zidan.
Ghana were the better team for much of the game but were unable to create many clear-cut chances as the Pharoahs claimed the trophy for a record seventh time.
The Black Stars were restricted to shots from distance against a defensively well-organised Egyptian side that conceded just two goals in their six games.
There was to be no repeat of the fireworks of Egypt's semi-final against Algeria – which saw four goals and three red cards – but Gedo popped up with time running out to score his fifth goal of the tournament, finishing as the competition's top scorer despite all his appearances coming from the bench.
Inspirational Hassan Shehata homes in on hat-trick for Egypt
Egypt went out of the Cup of Nations in the group stage six years ago but in 17 games since they are unbeaten. They won the tournament on home soil in 2006 and then became only the second North African side to win it in West Africa, triumphing in Ghana two years later.
Tomorrow, if they beat a youthful Ghana in the final, they will become the first team to win the tournament three times in succession.
It is not hard to pinpoint the reason for the upturn. After the departure of Marco Tardelli in 2004, Egypt turned to Hassan Shehata, and he has glowered successfully from behind his moustache ever since.
Once a prolific centre-forward with Zamalek, he was not an obvious choice, having developed a reputation as a promotion specialist, guiding Menia, Sharquia and Suez into the top flight in successive seasons before taking charge of the national youth set-up.
The 60-year-old insisted on a team ethic, stamping on the egos that had been so troublesome in the past. Perhaps the defining moment of his career came in the 2006 semi-final against Senegal after he substituted Mido. The then-Tottenham forward reacted furiously but as he and Shehata quarrelled on the touchline, his replacement Amr Zaki headed the winner: Shehata was vindicated and Mido has barely played for the national team since.
Religion is part of the process of bonding the team. In Ghana the squad joined in sacrificing a cow and they are expected to pray together. It is Islam that Shehata credits with having brought the at times tempestuous Borussia Dortmund forward Mohamed Zidan into line.
"I did not like how he used to be aloof and not mix with the rest," he said. "I convinced him of the need to pray and how important it is. He has been praying since."
It has clearly worked for Zidan, who missed the 2006 tournament because he preferred to fight for a place in the team at his German club Mainz. He has become an integral part of the side, setting up the only goal in the final two years ago and orchestrating the evisceration of Algeria on Thursday. "He's a very good coach," Zidan said. "What's important is that he has a good relationship with us."
With his refusal to co-operate with the media and brusque touchline manner, Shehata appears a sergeant-majorly figure but Zidan says the reality is very different. "He's like a father," he said. "We make jokes with him. He's not a young coach and it's strange to see somebody of his age who is so close to his team. Maybe other people don't see this – they just see him in the game when he is tense and is giving us instructions."
As ever, Shehata has imposed a media lockdown in the knockout stages of the tournament and it seems to work. If his side, who with 14 goals in five games have been by some way the best attacking team in the tournament, can overcome the best defence, he will equal the great Ghanaian coach CK Gyamfi's record of three African titles.
Ghana v Egypt: How they compare
Cup of Nations record This will be a record eighth final for both sides, although it is Ghana's first since they lost 11-10 on penalties to Ivory Coast in 1992. Egypt have won the title six times, Ghana four.
Key clash At 34 Ahmed Hassan remains probably the best creative midfielder in Africa but after almost a decade unchallenged the 21-year-old Ghanaian Kwadwo Asamoah has emerged as a worthy pretender. Their scrap in midfield could be crucial.
Preferred set-up Egypt will use the 3-5-2 that has brought them such sustained success, while Ghana will probably stick with their 4-4-1-1, which means Hany Said, the Egyptian sweeper, will have to step into midfield if they are not to be outnumbered there.
Africa Cup of Nations final: Ghana v Egypt, Luanda, Sunday 4pm (GMT)
Egyptian football’s pious turn
I am a big fan of Egypt's football team, and I have a jersey with six stars sitting in my closet that I take out proudly on days of decisive games to show support for them. The stars symbolise every African cup Egypt has won since 1957, when it claimed its first. I hope that Egypt will be able to add a seventh title to its impressive record by winning the cup in the tournament currently underway.
But I'm facing a real moral dilemma here. The national team of Egypt is starting to symbolise everything I stand against, namely homogeneity and intolerance. Should I keep rooting for my team despite the fact that it has taken an uncomfortable ideological diversion? Or should I keep my beliefs separate from my team affiliation?
My quandary is rooted in a statement by Hassan Shehata, the Egyptian national coach, who said that his squad selection is not only based on skills and competence, but also on piety. Also, the team's nickname is gradually changing from the Pharaohs to Montakhab el-Sagedeen (literally the team of prostrators). Sogood, or prostration, is an Islamic religious act used to express gratitude for God after achieving something. After scoring any goal, the entire Egyptian soccer team put their faces against the ground to show their thankfulness.
"Without [piety], we will never select any player regardless of his potential. I always strive to make sure that those who wear the Egypt jersey are on good terms with God," Hassan Shehata said, according to AP. Al-Shorouk also quoted Shehata saying that striker Mido, who once had a ponytail and dated Miss Belgium 2000, Joke van de Velde, was dismissed because he did not live up to the manager's pious ideals.
This will soon result in a situation where only practicing Muslims identify strongly with the team. Secular Muslims and religious minorities will feel indifferent at best. The team currently doesn't have a Christian player, in a country where at least 10% of the population are Christians. Hany Ramzy, one of the best defenders in the history of Egyptian football, was a Coptic Christian. However, the next time this happens, the Christian player will feel like an outcast if religious players, like Ahmed Fathy, force everyone to kneel after scoring a goal.
This phenomenon is just one small part of a bigger problem. Egypt is turning rapidly into a homogeneous society, where you need to be male, Muslim, physically able, young and from a middle-class urban area in order not to feel alienated.
I don't believe the phenomenon is just about religious beliefs. It is as much about sticking more than ever to traditional values to protect the fabric of society against cultural attacks from outside. It's a characteristic of weak societies to perceive anything foreign as a threat, including principles of equality, tolerance and justice.
This article will also be considered by some as one more evil attempt to impose western ideas on our pious eastern society, but diversity and tolerance should not only be western values but universal ones.
Egypt 4-0 Algeria – as it happened
Preamble:
This is probably the most explosive fixture in international football and comes, of course, less than three months after the teams' duel for a place in the World Cup ignited a bloody and hysterical ruckus involving players, officials, journalists, statesmen, diplomats, students, retailers, clerics, air stewardesses, farmers, engineers, medics, singers, beggars, bigots, delinquents, ruffians and postmen. What is needed now, then, are cool heads, so praise be to deft-footed Egyptian striker Mohammad Zidan for previewing today's encounter thus: "For both sides this will be a war. This is a matter of life and death. For us it's a chance to show the world that we deserve to be at the World Cup. If we win this we can watch the World Cup in peace. We're the champions and we're a better team than them. Everybody will see who is the better team." Who knows what is about to unfold?
The first thing to look out for, of course, is what stance the sides adopt during the national anthems. Before last November's play-off in Sudan, which was just a few days after the Algerian team had been stoned by febrile Pharoah fans ahead of the last group game in Cairo, the Fennecs (or Desert Foxes, or, if you want to keep things simple, Algeria) snubbed the Egyptians by turning their back on them during the anthem. That, it is said by some, enraged the Egyptian players still further – and given that Algeria went on to win the game, albeit with a degree of luck, it might be worth riling them anew.
Also worth examining are the teams' formation. Both have been accustomed to playing with a three-man defence, which in Algeria's case provides a platform for solidity in the centre and entertaining buccaneering out wide, where Egypt tend to have refined a more fluid model that enables them to move meaningfully and mordantly all over. Yes. In short, this promises to be an intriguing match and you'd be ill-advised, not to mention downright rude, to follow it anywhere but here.
Finally, let us fervently hope that this affair is kinder to the eye than this afternoon's oafish kerfuffle between Ghana and Nigeria.
Teams:
Algeria: 16-Fawzi Chaouchi; 2-Madjid Bougherra, 3-Nadir Belhadj, 4-Anthar Yahia, 5-Rafik Halliche; 6-Yazid Mansouri, 19-Hassan Yebda, 15-Karim Ziani, 20-Mourad Meghni; 13-Karim Matmour, 9-Abdelkader Ghezzal.
Egypt: 1-Essam Al Hadari; 2-Mahmoud Fathallah, 3-Ahmed Al Muhammadi, 6-Hani Said, 20-Wael Gomaa; 7-Ahmed Fathi, 8-Hosni Abd Rabou, 14-Sayed Moawad, 17-Ahmed Hassan; 9-Mohamed Zidan, 10-Emad Motaeb.
Referee: Bonaventure Coffi Codjia (Benin)
7:24pm: No national anthem snubbing this time - both parties content themselves with singing along lustily with their own while maintaining a tolerant silence during their opponents. And that's followed by cordial hand-shakes. All very gentlemanly.
7:26pm: Like a flying penguin in a bikini, your emails are currently non-existent. Feel free to change that status.
1 min: Amid abundant smoke from assorted flares and what not, Algeria set the game in motion, whacking the ball upfield in amiless fashion, thereby allowing Egypt to settle into some reassuring passing around the back.
3 mins: Halliche slips but recovers sufficiently to disposses Motaeb in the box. The Egyptian bays for a penalty, but the ref ignores him. The television controllers do not consider the incident worthy of a replay. Conspiracy theories are probably being spawned in Cairo as we speak.
4 mins: Meghni - once dubbed the new Zidane in France (for whom he won a U-17 World Cup way back when) - curls a freekick over the bar.
5 mins: "I'm an Egyptian currently working in Canada," declares Yaser Abou Elenein. " What I want to say very loudly is ... GO EGYPT!" And go they just did, Fathallah hurtling down the right before flashing a tempting cross in front of goal. No one could get their toe to it, however.
6 mins: That's lovely play from Egypt, who have quickly got into their positive passing groove. Halliche had to show tremendous vigilance to divert a Zidan shot behind.
8 mins: Egypt are dominating possession, and circulating the ball with great pace and fluidity. Algeria seem intent merely on surviving for the moment, with virtually the whole team behind the ball. "I'd totally buy an upper-body work-out video hosted by Bouazza and Ghezzal," reveals Steven Villereal. "What do you reckon their combined chest circumference is?" Do you know, I've never given the matter any thought. And am not really about to.
10 mins: Meghni leads an Algerian counter-attack and wins a corner. Belhadj curls it in, El Hadari's punch is unconvincing but Egypt eventually scramble it away. Algeria regain the ball around half-way, however, and Boughera barges forward to bang one just wide from 35 yards.
12 mins: Fathi dinks one over for Motaeb to chase, but Chaouchi gets to it first. By the way, I should explain that when I said I hadn't received any emails yet, what I meant was that I haven't got any good ones yet. Plenty of rubbish or irrelevant ones, but what am I to do with them other than shake an impotent first at them, eh?
13 mins: Al Hadari collects another Belhadj cross and then runs into Yahia ... and goes down as it attacked by a steriod-fuelled bouncer. The ref merely looks and laughs.
15 mins: This game is far superior to this afternoon's one. It's been played at break-neck tempo and both sides brim with attacking gusto. Belhadj has just raced down the left and curled an inviting freekick towards Ghezzal, who failed to connect.
17 mins: Another player goes down as if struck by a bad-tempered gargoyle. This time it's Ghezzal, and again he's surely faking - Gomaa barely touched him when competing for a header.
19 mins: Algeria have reverted to a back four, Muhammadi having effectively pushed Belhadj back to a more defensive role. Egypt's frantic pressing high up the pitch when not in possession is helping pin Algeria back.
21 mins: Chauouchi appears to have a long streak of bright blue paint down the side of his neck. No idea how he got it, but it's unlikely to catch on.
23 mins: Al Hadari charges off his line to intercept a long ball towards Ghezzal.
25 mins: Unlike Eygpt, Algeria are choosing not to pressurise their opponets in their own half, preferring to cluster back in their own territory, and spring forward rapidly whenever they do manage to get the ball back. It didn't look so clever just now, however, when Muhammadi picked out Zidan with a sharp slow pass from the back and the striker flicked it brilliantly to Motaeb, who curled it towards the top corner from the edge of the box. Terriffic save by Chauouchi.
27 mins: Yahia seems to have devised a strategy of sending long high diagonal passes towards Ziani, who is a small man and stands no chance of winning the ball against the Egyptian defenders. It is a silly strategy, to be sure.
28 mins: Another pointless cross-field hoof from Yahia. Another predictable outcome.
29 mins: Meghni is brought down by Said wide on the right. Belhadj floats in the freekick. Al Hadari punches it away under pressure from Halliche, who receives a totally unmerited booking.
31 mins: Algeria have condensed the midfield and stemmed the forward flow of Egypt. It remains a keenly contested, delicately poised match, however. Engrossing stuff. "My girlfriend's mother is Egyptian so I was once lucky enough to visit that beautiful country and see a national match," exults Peter Corway. "The passion amongst the support is incredible. The players are constantly cheered and praised by the die-hard support. Compare that to English fans who have no problem booing their own players, it's quite something."
34 mins: Belhadj shows commendable composure to pass his way out of defence while being harrassed by Hassan.
36 mins: Moawad surges past some flimsy challenges down the left and curls a dangerous cross into the six-yard box. Zidan lunges at it but can't get a touch.
37 mins: Fathallah booked for pulling back Matmour as the Algerian threatened to run away from him and on to a long pass over the top.
PENALTY TO EGYPT! It was the correct decision. Halliche was caught out by a long ball over the top and lunged at it in a bid to prevent Motaeb latching on to it. He made contact only with the striker, who collapsed to the ground. And Halliche cops a second yellow card, and trudges off. The unjustified first booking has proved costly.
GOAL! Egypt 1-0 Algeria (Hosny, pen, 39') Hosny halts his run in John Aldridge-esque fashion to send the keeper the wrong way, then rolls it into the net. Chaouchi is outraged and confronts the ref in a highly aggressive manner, appearing to thrust his head at the Beninese official. Many would have shown at least a yellow for that, but Mr Codjia just waves him away.
41 mins: Egypt carve Algeria open again, Moawad playing a lovely one-two before clipping a cross towards the centre. It's cleared. And after that the TV controllers showed a replay of Chaouchi's confrontation with the ref ... and reveal that he did actually headbutt the official! The contact was minimal, but Paul Alcock, for one, would surely have reeled twenty yards backwards. Turns out the keeper was shown a yellow. And was incredibly lucky to escape a red. "Is that a picture of a desert fox that I see on the shoulder of the Algerian jersey?" Yes it is, Chris Thomas. "Do all of the Puma made African jerseys in the tournament have images of the respective national team's flamboyant nickname?" yes they do, Chris Thomas. "Is there a black antelope on the shoulder of the Angolan jersey or an image of a pharaoh on the Egyptian jersey?" Yes there is, Chris Thomas. "I would love to see a picture of a Reggae Boy on the Jamaican jersey." That's a good idea, Chris Thomas.
43 mins: Al Muhammadi races past Belhadj - who's no slouch, as they say - but sends his cross into the sidenetting.
45 mins: Algeria are in disarray and Egypt are piercing them with ease. Rabah Saadane must be pleading for half-time.
Half-time: The ref brings the half to a close, and receives a hug from Yebda as t hey walk off the pitch. This has been a high-quality, richly entertaining game so far and though Egypt are in full flow and a man and goal to the good, Algeria will surely come at them in the second period. One of Saadane's main tasks during the break will be to inject some sangfroid into his charges, some of whom have lost tactical discipline since the goal, not to mention come close to copping a red card.
A point of order: "Not only did Chaouchi practically headbutt the ref, his team-mate Ghezzal slapped him round the face to calm him down," declares Scott W. "Isn't this - technically - a sending off for both players? We should be thankful that Codjia turned the other cheek, or this game could be all but over."
46 mins: The players are back to where they belong.
47 mins: Al Muhammadi, who is having an oustanding game down the right, centres. Algeria scramble it as far as Hosni, whose venomous shot is blocked by Mansouri.
48 mins: Hassan sends a 30-yarder miles wide.
49 mins: Motaeb out-sprints two Algerian defenders and then, as Boughera attempts to dispossess him, goes down in the box. The ref waves play on. I'd like to see a replay of that - first impression was it should have been another penalty.
51 mins: Fierce cross by Ghezzal, but his team-mates hadn't anticipated it therefore were not on hand to turn it in. Meanwhile, Motaeb is still down at the other end following that collission with Boughera in the box.
52 mins: Egypt change: Moteab off, Tottenham legend Hossam Ghaly on. Egypt, then, seem set to play with one up front, though given the swiftness and fluidity of their movement they can never be accused of rigidity.
54 mins: The game's going through a scrappy spell. Thought you'd like to know.
57 mins: Egypt are sitting back a bit more and Algeria are startign to build a bit of momentum. They cobbled together a many-passed move just now, working their way from their own box all the way up into the Egyptian one, where Yebda sent a soft header wide.
59 mins: After soaking up Algerian pressure for several minutes, Egypt sping forward and Moawad slashes a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
60 mins: Egypt change: Fathallah off, Geddo on.
61 mins: Again Egyptian are a bit too obliging as they allow Algeria to pick their way forward. Eventually they try to intervene at the edge of their own area, but do so illegally and concede a freekick. Yebda tonks it goalwards, and El Hadari does well to tip it behind for a corner, which he himself punches clear. "Given Hossam Ghaly's love of the overly theatrical when being subbed out of a match, how does he ensure that he makes an entrance when being subbed on?" wonders Adrian Cooper. "Does he angrily snatch a shirt from the ground and aggressively tug it over his head or perhaps arrange to be carried on, atop a throne and draped in a flowing blood-red cape, by four topless and oiled muscelmen, in the style of Lady Gaga?" It was a little like taht funnily enough, except without the aggressive dooning of the shirt, throne, cape and partially naked studs.
63 mins: Pandemonium in the Algerian box! Moawad was the main instigator, sruging forward and pulling it back to Zidan, who stumbled as he was about to shoot from five yards. It rolled to Hosni but his shot was diverted over for a corner.
GOAL! Egypt 2-0 Algeria (Zidan 65') That's a sumptuous goal! Zidan received the ball about 30 yards out, dribbled forward, feinted one way and then turned the other before curling a left-footer into the top corner from the edge of the area.
67 mins: Algeria change: Meghni off, Laifaoui on.
68 mins: It's party-time for Egypt, who are flipping and flicking the ball around for fun now. Algeria can only watch and wince.
70 mins: Algeria have collapsed. And now they're down to nine men as Belhadj deservedly sees red for a crazy late tackle. "That is disgusting, unbelievable ... and he meat to hurt him," fumes Russell Osman on Eurosport.
71 mins: The short-numbered Algerians are prised apart by a long punt from El Hadari, but Boughera sprinted back to prevent Zidan from getting off as a shot.
73 mins: Mansouri shoves Zidan, either because he's annoyed the Egyptian was offside or, much more likely, because he's peeved at the course of events. But that's unlikely to change it. "Why are you covering this nonsense of a tournament?" rages Michael Aston. "Seriously, who cares?" Not you, apparently. But plenty of other people do. Is that OK?
77 mins: Algeria's defence is all over the shop and Egypt should have hit a third, but Hassan lifted his shot over the keeper and into the sidenetting when clean through. "Will Belhadj be banned from the World Cup group games after his sending off?" asks Andrew Hush. Well, I belive he'll get a three-game ban, but they are likely to play at least three matches before the tournament so he should serve his time before the summer.
79 mins: Egypt change: Abdelshafi on, Moawad off.
GOAL! Egypt 3-0 Algeria (Abdelshafi 81') I imagine most Algerian fans have turned off their TVs by now, because this is all very humiliating. Egypt are toying with them ... casually picking their way past their depleted opponents. Zidan eventually slips the ball to Abdelshafi, who slams it into the net from an acute angle.
83 mins: All Algeria can muster by way of response at this point are angry challenges .... a third red card is certainly not out of the question. All this could have been so different, of course, if Halliche had not been sent off earlier following two bookings, one of which was grossly unjust. Expect sentences like that to proliferate in the Algerian papers tomorrow. You will be reading them, right, Michael Aston?
85 mins: El Muhammadi scampers down the right, as he has done so often tonight, and then calmly pulled the ball back for Geddo, whose low shot was well saved by Chaouchi.
ANOTHER RED CARD FOR ALGERIA! The keeper has been dismissed, a fate he has seemed to be seeking for quite a while. He hurtled off his line and aimed a wild kick at an Egyptian forward, who had already been whistled offside. Ludicrous.
88 mins: Algeria change: Ghezzal is taken off so that another keeper, Zemmamouche, can come on.
90 mins: There will be at least four mintues time added on. Plenty of scope, then, for Algeria to get enough men sent off for the match to be abandoned. "Three red cards, three brilliant goals and a stunning team performance from Egypt," observes Peter Corway. "What the hell is Michael Aston talking about?!"
90+1 mins: Several of you have emailed to correctly point out that friendlies don't count towards serving suspensions. The reason Algeria may yet have Belhadj and Co available for the World Cup is that this week proposed organising a tournament for the six African qualifiers ahead of the WC, which would have competitive status and help them hone their match readiness ... and expunge those suspensions. Whether it goes ahead are not remains to be seen.
GOAL! Egypt 4-0 Algeria (Gedo 90+2) Another sweeping Egypt move culminates with Gedo slotting it past the new keeper and into the net from 18 yards.
Full-time: That was splendid entertainment and a highly accomplished performance - yet again - from hassan Shehata's serial champions. Even before Halliche's unjust expulsion they were the better side, and after that Algeria disintegrated. They have a responsibility to pull themselves together before the World Cup, not just to themselves but for everyone who is saddened that this excellent Egyptian side won't grace the global stage. Getting to South Africa isn't enough - once there they must show again they deserve to be there. Egypt, meanwhile, have to be overwhelming favourites for the final against Ghana. Be sure to tune into that right here. Please. Even you might enjoy it, Michael Aston, if you allow yourself to.
Africa Cup of Nations: Egypt v Cameroon – as it happened
Good afternoon everybody. You can read all about today's quarter-finalists in Jonathan Wilson's excellent preview, while I embark on the customary Frantic Afternoon Scrabble Around Cyberspace In Search Of Africa Cup Of Nations Starting Line-Ups. They usually appear on the news wires about 10 minutes into the first half, which obviously isn't ideal. This is a difficult game to call, but on the evidence of what I've seen so far this month, I think the Indomitable Lions have better players than Egypt, but the Pharaohs are the better team.
Pre-match niceties: Still no line-ups, but we'll soldier on without them for the time being. It's a repeat of the final from two years ago, between two sides who've won the Africa Cup of Nations 10 times between them. Egypt are out on the pitch, waiting for Cameroon to arrive. Samuel Eto'o grabs his mascot by the hand and leads his side out.
National anthems: Who'd be a Eurosport commentator or match summariser? We're halfway through the national anthems and they still haven't shown the list of names for either side's starting eleven.
1 min: After a fairly poorly observed silence for those who died in the earthquake in Haiti, Cameroon kick off. They're playing in their usual strip of green shirts, red shorts and yellow socks. Egypt's players line up in red shirts, white shorts and black socks.
2 min: Ahmed Hassan gets bundled off the ball by Gilles Binya, who wins the first corner of the match for Cameroon.
3 min: Emana swings the corner into the near post and out of play. Despite the ball being conspicuously not inside the quadrant when he took the corner-kick, the linesman didn't seem to mind.
4 min: Cameroon are having the better of the early exchanges, having set about their task with vigour. On the rare occasions they're not in possession, they're busily hustling and harrying the Egyptians off the ball.
5 min: Egypt win a free-kick deep inside their own half after a foul by Samuel Eto'o. Wael Gomaa welts the ball past the halfway line for a moment's respite.
6 min: At last - some hot team action.
Egypt: 1-Essam El Hadari; 2-Mahmoud Fathallah, 6-Hani Said, 20-Wael Gomaa, 7-Ahmed Fathi; 14-Sayed Moawad; 8-Hosni Abd Rabou, 17-Ahmed Hassan, 3-Ahmed Al Muhammadi; 9-Mohamed Zidan, 10-Emad Motaeb.
Cameroon: 1-Idriss Carlos Kameni; 12-Henri Bedimo, 8-Geremi, 3-Nicolas Nkoulou, 5-Aurelien Chedjou; 6-Alexandre Song, 18-Enoh Eyong, 20-Georges Mandjeck, 10-Achille Emana; 9-Samuel Eto'o, 17-Mohamadou Idrissou.
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)
8 min: Hassan tries to drive the Egyptians forward, only to be fouled by Achille Emana. He goes down theatrically, holding his ankle. I don't think there's too much wrong with him.
9 min: Geremi plays the ball up the right flank for Georges Mandjeck to chase. He wins a corner, from which Wael Gomaa concedes another.
10 min: Emana takes the corner and Cameroon win another one ... then another. This is getting very tedious.
11 min: Egyptian midfielder Wael Gomaa gets a talking-to from the referee for pushing and shoving in the penalty area between corners, then Emana sends in his third corner in quick succession. Egypt clear.
13 min: Samuel Eto'o skins Ahmed Fathi for pace down the right wing, but the full-back recovers sufficiently well to put the ball out for another corner. Nothing comes of it.
15 min: Alex Song fouls Mohamed Zidan a couple of yards outside the Cameroon penalty area. Egypt get the free-kick.
16 min: Hosni takes the free-kick, the wall jumps and the ball deflects off them for a corner. Sayed Moawad sends the ball into the mixer, it's back towards him down by the touchline, so he sends it in again. Cameroon clear. This is a very scrappy game.
18 min: Hosni Abd Rabou gets booked for a foul on Enoh Eyong.
19 min: Alex Song plays an excellent ball up the left flank for Enoh to chase. There's too much pace on it and the Cameroon winger can't keep the ball in play.
20 min: Song gets caught on the ball deep in his own half, forcing a team-mate to make a crucial interception as Egypt countered courtesy of Ahmed Fathi.
22 min: "Come on Egypt!" writes Ollie Spero. "Arsenal could do with Alexandre Demetri Song-Billong back!" Speaking of Alexandre Demetri Song-Billong, the great man was very lucky to escape a yellow card just now, fouling Mohamed Zidan in the Cameroon left-back position, then handling the ball deliberately.
24 min: From the free-kick conceded by Song, Egypt go close. The ball is crossed into the penalty area and Zidan puts a free header high over the bar.
GOAL! Cameroon 1-0 Egypt (Hassan 25og) Cameroon go ahead courtesy of an Ahmed Hassan own goal from an Achille Emana corner to the near post. Emana's corner was marvellous - he whipped it into the near post and if Hassan hadn't helped the ball on its way, it would almost certainly have gone in anyway.
28 min: Egypt go close when Cameroon goalkeeper Kameni rushes off his line to collect a through-ball, only to be beaten to it by - I think - Zidan. His header goes wide, but not by much.
29 min: Cameroon defender Henri Bedimo goes down injured after a clash with Ahmed Fathi. He'll live.
31 min: Cameroon win another corner and the ball's sent across the edge of the six-yard box. Idrissu beats Gomaa in the air, but scuffs his header. The ball goes out for another corner, which Egypt clear.
32 min: Egypt attack and Fathi plays a clever pass from the centre of the field out towards the left corner for Zidan to chase. There's a wee bit too much leather on the ball and it runs out of play for a Cameroon goal-kick.
35 min: Cameroon win a free-kick deep inside their own half. Song plays a long ball up towards the towering centre-forward Idrissou, but his marker, Hani Said, clears for a throw-in.
GOAL! Cameroon 1-1 Egypt (Hassan 36)More of the comedy goalkeeping for which this tournament is renowned allows Ahmed Hassan to atone for his own-goal. He shoots from about 35 yards out and the ball bounces in front of and over Cameroon's goalkeeper Idriss Kameni on it's way into the bottom left-hand corner.
39 min: Wael Gomaa gets booked for a harmless challenge on Samuel Eto'o. He's followed into the book by Geremi, with both cautions appearing to be for dissent.
41 min: Geremi plays a long ball towards Idrissou, but not for the first time, the pass is too high for the Cameroon frontman.
30 min: The good people at Eurosport inform me that the right-footed shot with which Ahmed Hassan equalised was 34 metres out. It was a decent, dipping drive, but it shouldn't have troubled Kameni.
44 min: "Is there any limit to the size of goalkeeper's equipment?" asks Colin Greer. "Perhaps giant clown gloves and shoes (and wig?) would be useful, as they could block more of the goal." Well?
45 min: Achille Emana tries his luck with a speculative shot from distance, forcing a smart save from Essam El Hadari in the Egyptian goal. I don't think the Egypt keeper was expceting that - it seemed to take him by surprise.
45 +1 min: There'll be a minimum of two minutes' worth of added time.
45+2 min: El Hadari is pressed into service again, charging off his line to beat Idrissou to an excellent through-ball from Samuel Eto'o, who's in a more withdrawn role today, playing behind Idrissou out near the right wing.
Half-time
Half-time analysis: "Colin Greer could be onto something here," writes Adrian Cooper. "Is this why David James was sporting that silly afro a couple of seasons ago. With just the right amount of hairspray it could have added valuable inches to the amount of the goalmouth that he could cover. Surely there would also be an argument for fielding goalkeepers that aren't exactly on the svelte side? Could this be why Roberto Mancini has put pizza on the Man City menu?"
"That header on 23 minutes was one of the worst I've ever seen," writes Pete in Birmingham. "He put it into orbit!" Yeah, sorry about that. I probably didn't do it justice, but it's been a very long and tiring day. If this match goes to extra-time, there's a very good chance I'll burst into tears.
Second half: Egypt get the second half underway. I don't think there's been any changes to either side.
46 min: The ball is played in behind the Egyptian defence, where Wael Gomaa foolishly waits for it to bounce before hacking clear. He was at full stretch there, with Idrissou lurking behind him.
47 min: Shocking defending from Chedjou, who allows a long ball from deep inside the Egyptian half to bounce when he should have headed clear. Motaeb pounces for Egypt, but goalkeeper Kasmeni saves his centre-half's bacon with a fine save.
49 min: It's all Egypt at the moment, mainly because of terrible defending from Aurelian Chedjou. He's having a nightmare. They waste two chances in quick succession, the pick of them a wild slash from Zidan from 13 yards out that fizzes narrowly wide.
51 min: Cameroon win another corner, which Achille Emana plays short to Alex Song. The pair combine to creat a decent shooting angle, but Emana's shot is so bad that it goes out for a throw-in on the other side of the pitch.
53 min: There's a break in play when Gomaa requires treatment after landing awkwardly in the wake of an aerial tussle between himself, Idrissou and Egypt goalkeeper Essan El Hadari.
54 min: Samuel Eto'o wins a free-kick in the centre-circle after being fouled by Mahmoud Fathallah. The ball is played to Georgeds Mandjeck on the edge of the Egypt box and he rifles a low drive about half a metre wide of the right post.
56 min: There's a bit of argy-bargy between Cameroon centre-half Nicolas Nkoulou and Emad Motaeb. I think Nkoulu got booked for his part in it after pushing the Egypt striker in the chest.
58 min: Now Nkoulou requires treatment after a collision with Sayed Moawad. All these stoppages for free-kicks and injuries mean the second half hasn't really got going yet. It's very scrappy.
59 min: Samuel Eto'o tees up Enoh, who shoots over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.
60 min: Not for the first time, a promising looking Cameroon attack breaks down once Alex Song enters the equation. He's not having one of his better games and keeps giving the ball away.
61 min: Throw-in for Cameroon in the Egypt left-back position. Geremi sends the ball towards the penalty area and Egypt clear.
62 min:Emana stings El Hadari's palms with a drive from distance. The ball breaks to Sayed Moawad, who heads it out for a corner under pressure from Geremi. Egypt clear.
64 min: Egypt win a throw-in in front of their own dug-out. The referee stops his watch upon noticing that the Egypt goalkeeper El Hadari has removed a glove and is nursing an injured wrist. A quick spray from the magic aerosol later and he's fit to continue.
67 min: Egypt substitution: Zidan off, Khaled Gedo on ... I think.
68 min: Cameroon get a free-kick 35 metres out from the Egypt goal, right of centre. Geremi clips it around the wall and tries to sneak the ball in at the foot of the right upright. His effort is on target, but El Hadari scampers across his line to save.
69 min: The longer this match goes on, the more Cameroon look like winning. They're doing all of the pressing, which means Egypt are playing very deep and their two strikers are completely isolated up front.
71 min: Hassan gives away his third free-kick in the past eight minutes, this time on the halfway line. I'm not sure how he's escaped a booking because they were all fairly meaty challenges.
72 min: There's another stoppage as Enoh gets treatment after a collision with Hani Said. He'd played a one-two with Samuel Eto'o and was on his way to collect the return pass on the edge of the penalty area when he ran straight into immovable object that was the Egyptian defender
75 min: Cameroon win a corner, which Geremi sends it in to the near post. His delivery is poor and goes straight to an Egyptian, who clears.
76 min: Cameroon win another free-kick in the middle third. Geremi pumps the ball towards the Egypt penalty area, but Fathallah heads it clear.
77 min: "This match provides ample time to do some in-depth research into clown gloves," writes Wouter Ijzermans from the Netherlands. "In response to Colin Greer's comment I can confirm that Fifa's rules of the game state that: 'A player may use equipment other than the basic equipment (shirt, shorts, shinguards, stockings and shoewear) provided that its sole purpose is to protect him physically and it poses no danger to him or any other player'. Clown gloves and shoes certainly pose a danger for anyone with decent taste so they must be out of order."
79 min: Cameroon win another free-kick about 45 yards from the Egypt goal. Geremi strikes it through the wall, but the pace is taken off it on the way and Egypt hack clear.
80 min: Motaeb gets penalised for a foul on Alex Song, when it looked very much like the Cameroon defender had fouled the Egyptian in the Cameroon penalty area. That's a let-off for Song.
82 min: Eight minutes to go and unless there's another goal, we'll have another 30 afterwards. Come on Egypt! Come on Cameroon! Somebody ... anybody ... please, please, please score!
84 min: Egypt substitution: Hossam Ghaly on, Hosni Abd Rabou off.
85 min: El Hadari rushes off his line to collect a cross from the right wing. It's all Cameroon at the moment - Egypt are holding on for extra time. The feckers.
86 min: Muhammadi looks nervously at the referee after Idrissou went down under a challenge from him in the Egypt penalty area. Much to his relief, the ref points to the corner instead of the penalty spot.
87 min: Cameroon substitution: Emana off, Webo on.
88 min: Egypt go close at the death, when Emad Motaeb sidefoots into the side-netting from about six yards out. He really should have done better after getting on the end of a marvellous cross-field pass from Sayed Moawad.
90 min: There'll be three minutes of added time.
90+1 min: Nkoulou plays a long ball up to Idrissou and the centre forward knocks it down. Samuel Eto'o isn't ideally placed to pick up the knock-down and the chance goes a begging.
90+2 min: Peep! Peep! Peep! There'll be half an hour of extra time, possibly followed by a penalty shootout. Cameroon were the better side throughout, but Egypt had several good chances to win it, particularly at the beginning and end of the second half.
ET1: Cameroon kick-off the first half of extra time and immediately bring a save out of El Hadari when Samuel Eto'o shoots low and hard from outside the penalty area. The Egypt goalkeeper gets down to his left and saves.
GOAL! Cameroon 1-2 Egypt (Gedo 92) THe substitutite Gedo intercepts a very sloppy backpass from Geremi to his goalkeeper, takes the ball around Kameni and slots it into an empty net. That's another howler.
ET 4: I stand corrected - Gedo did not in fact take the ball around Kameni, he nutmegged him.
GOAL! Cameroon 1-3 Egypt (Hassan 95) More bad goalkeeping. Calamitous, in fact. Egypt win a free-kick about 30 yards out in the left channel. Ahmed Hassan hits a scorcher which Kameni punches on to his upright The ball bounces on the line and out of the goal, but the linesman tells the referee to give award the score.
ET7: Cameroon win a corner. SOme of their players are looking seriously shellshocked after those two sucker-punches.
ET8: The ball's floated in to the near post, where it gets flicked on. Nkoulou heads it and Samuel Eto'o tries to divert it goalwards with a bicycle-kick. He misses the ball completely and it goes wide.
ET9: Cameroon win a free-kick on the right-hand side of the field about 25 yards out from goal. Moawad gets booked for time-wasting as Egypt form their wall, then Geremi sends the free-kick out for a corner off the aforementioned human shield.
ET12: Cameroon have nobody to blame but themselves for the pickle they currently find themselves in. All three of the goals they've coneded have been defensive abberations - two dropped clangers from the goalkeeper and a dreadful backpass from Geremi, from whom you'd expect better.
ET14: Egypt are now firmly in control, forcing Cameroon's players to chase shadows as they pass the ball around between them, content to keep possession and run down the clock.
ET15: There'll be one minute of time extra time in first half extra time.
Half-time in extra-time The players make their way over to the side of the pitch for some liquid refreshments, with Cameroon goalkeeper Idriss Kameni looking thoroughly ashamed of himself. He'll feel evemn worse when he sees the replay of the game, as the third goal he shipped shouldn't have stood. My first impression was that the ball bounced over the line, but replays show I was mistaken.
ET16: And we're off again, with Burnley's Andre Bikey coming on for - I think - Geremi.
ET17: Cameroon resort to Route One, but a long ball from the back is allowed to bounce straight to El Hadari in the Egypt goal.
ET17: Great hold-up play from Idrissou, who tries to play in Webo. The substitute is penalised for offside.
ET18: A sly shirt-tug by somebody in red earns Cameroon a free-kick in the Egypt left-back position, from which they win a corner.
ET20: Then another, from which Egypt break courtesy of Hossam Ghally, who over-runs the ball, shows too much of it to Kameni and allows the goalkeeper to save.
ET21: Aurelien Chedjou gets sent off for a professional foul on Gedo. He's had a terrible game and his side will actually be better off without him. He let a long ball bounce, then wasn't strong enough to hold off Gedo, who'd spotted an opportunity. As the Egyptian headed off for goal with ther ball at his feet, Chedjou grabbed him around the waist and brought him down.
ET24: Egypt continue trying to play down the clock by passing the ball around Cameroon. They look more like scoring a fourth goal than conceding a second. Cameroon are dead men walking.
ET25: Samuel Eto'o's poor tournament continues - he tries a shot from distance that sails wide. The camera cuts to the Cameroon bench, where Geremi and others look absolutely distraught.
ET26: Alex Song wins a corner for Cameroon, which Georges Mandjeck takes deep. It's headed wide. Egypt substitution: Hassan, who has scored two goals for his own side and one for Cameroon this evening, off. Abdelshafi on.
ET28: Cameroon win a free-kick just inside the Egypt half, which Alex Song welts into the penalty area. The ball pinballs about a bit, before El Hadari gathers for Egypt.
ET30: Peep! Peep! Peep! It's all over - the holders Egypt go through to the semi-finals after taking advantage of some calamitous defending from Cameroon, who were actually the better team for lengthy periods of the match. They've thrown this one away, although the goal that sealed their fate was very contentious - it definitely didn't cross the line and should not have been given. Anyway, that's all from me - thanks for your time and enjoy whatever's left of your day. I'm off for a long overdue lie-down.
Hosts Angola punished by Asamoah Gyan as Ghana surge into semi-finals
Ghana became the first team to reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations as Asamoah Gyan scored the only goal of the game to knock the hosts, Angola, out of the competition. The Rennes striker produced a clinical finish at the end of a sweeping counter-attack in the 16th minute to stun the majority of the near 50,000 crowd, and that proved enough.
Angola could have only themselves to blame for failing to progress as they missed a series of chances against Milovan Rajevac's side, Manucho, the Real Valladolid striker, being particularly culpable.
The tension inside the Estadio do Novembre 11 in Luanda was evident from the outset as the Ghana striker Andre Ayew found himself in the referee's notebook within 30 seconds for diving in on Mabina. And Richard Kingson, the Ghana goalkeeper, survived two anxious moments in mix-ups with his left-back, Lee Addy, before Gyan gave warning of his threat by curling a 30-yard free-kick narrowly wide.
However, it took him only six minutes more for him to get on the scoresheet. Kwadwo Asamoah, the Udinese midfielder, split the Angola defence with a superb pass from inside his own half and Gyan, venturing in from the right, fired a shot across goal and beyond Carlos Fernandes.
Angola's response was immediate, Gilberto's free-kick causing mayhem in the Black Stars' area before Manucho spurned his first chance to equalise, heading a floated cross from Flavio Amado straight at Kingson. Five minutes later Kingson, the back-up to Chris Kirkland at Wigan Athletic, was penalised for holding on to the ball longer than the mandatory six seconds but Flavio fired the free-kick over. Angola should have been level on the stroke of half-time when Flavio evaded two tackles to set up Manucho again but he blasted over with the goal gaping.
The hosts continued to pile on the pressure after the break but Manucho's anguish was complete when he directed a header over from three yards. Ghana were forced to hang on as five minutes of injury-time were added but the Angola captain, Kali, proved equally profligate in front of goal, failing to connect with a Ze Kalanga cross.
Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale recovering after team bus attack
Togo's goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale is awake and recovering well at the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg just under two weeks after his team bus came under attack in Angola, a spokesman for the medical centre has confirmed.
The 25-year-old was travelling to the Africa Cup of Nations with the rest of his team-mates before the start of the competition when they were shot at with machine-guns in the Cabinda region of the country.
Three people died in the 8 January incident – the driver, an assistant coach and a press officer – while Obilale had to be flown to South Africa for emergency treatment after sustaining gunshot wounds in the lower back and abdomen.
"He has made extremely good progress," trauma specialist Ken Boffard told Talk Radio 702. "He is continuing to recover. He is awake, eating, talking and he is in good spirits."
The France-based goalkeeper had been in intensive care after the attack, which prompted his country to withdraw from the tournament.
Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroon v Tunisia – as it happened
Preamble:
Hi, how's it going? Up to anything interesting lately? Awful weather we're having. The price of stuff - crazy, eh? And what about those hoodies and swine flu and politicians' expenses. It's a disgrace.
The above was the correct current small talk convention, wasn't it? Good. So let's move on to the interesting stuff. We'll start with the teams for this make-or-break clash twixt Cameroon and Tunisia. Oh no, we won't, because I don't yet have them to hand. So here are the line-ups for the equally critical encounter between Gabon and Zambia. All four teams in this group could yet progress to the quarater-finals, see.
3:59pm: I can tell you that Cameroon have made no fewer than six changes to their starting line-up for this game. Reacting to the sluggish performances in the first two games, and perhaps to the taunts emanating from the Tiunisian camp, according too which the Indomitable Lions are "too old" to be a threat any more, Paul Le Guen has discarded Geremi and Rigbert Song, amongst others.
GOAL! Cameroon 0-1 Tunisia! A ridiculous start by Cameroon! The changes at the back have produced a result exactly opposed to the one anticipated by Le Guen! Tunisia cantered down the right wing and centre effortlessly, whereupon Chermiti darted in front of Nkoulou and directed a pluinging header into the net from seven yards! Splendid goal from a Tunisian viewpoint, diabolical from a Cameroonian one.
2 mins: As Cameroon repel a corner from the buoyant young Tunisians, the line-ups finally land in my inbox. Behold:
Cameroon: Kameni, N'Koulou, Binya, A Song, Mandjeck,
N'Guemo, Chedjou, Idrissou, Eto'o, Makoun, Enoh.
Tunisia: Mathlouthi; Souissi, Haggui, Jemal, Ragued, Korbi, Chemiti, Dhaouadi, I Jomaa, Mikari, Nafkha.
4 mins: Jemaa booked for a cynical foul in midfield. Less explicably, I've just noted that Achille Emana is on the bench. A bonkers decision by Le Guen, to be sure. "Can you tell us how Nguemo plays?" pleas Patrick Grey. "As a Celtic fan I'm torn between wanting the lad to play as well, as he has done for us, but wanting his team to crash and burn horribly so he is back playing for us sharpish! (Sorry Cameroon fans. And, er, Landry)." Well, he was abysmal on his previous appearance in the tournament - worse than Emana was in the last game for sure - but he's in action here. Not done anything yet, like his team-mates.
6 mins: A pause in play as a Tunisian receives treatment. "Only 22 and married with two children - a responsible young man," says Eurosport's commentator of Alex Song as the camera pans to the Arsenal midfield. "I'd call that irresponsible," replies his sidekick Stuart Robson. Textbook moralising from the gantry, right there.
10 mins: Cameroon are showing plenty of urgency, but lamentably little precision.
13 mins: Eto'o, marooned out on the left as part of Le Guen's odd masterplan, collects the ball and attempts to drive inside, but is repulsed by a Tunisian defender. "Mention of the Zambia team reminds me of the days back in '95 when I used to play Actua Soccer on the family PC," recalls Elliot Carr-Barnsley, all misty-eyed. "Every time Kalusha Bwalya got the ball, anywhere on the pitch, the commentator (Barry Davies?) would shout "BWALIYYYAAAA" as if he'd scored. Happy days. I once spent a day playing the whole of Euro 96 on that with a friend. Good times. I remember the sun being out outside but we had no need for it."
16 mins: By the way, I forgot to mention that the Cameroon team presented themselves for the pre-match anthems in the orthodox manner - I note that, of course, because they were panned in Cameroon for turning their backs on the Zambia team during the anthems that preceded their previous match - that little stunt was inspired by Algeria's pointed snub of the Egyptian players in the recent World Cup play-off but, according to some Cameroonian journalists, riled the Zambians so much that they went and opened the secoring after only eight minutes. This time Cameroon's opponents scored after jsut one minute. So what does that tell us about the importance of stances during anthems, eh?
19 mins: Tunisia are content to play on the counter now, and are having no trouble soaking up the blunt pressure from Cameroon, whose lack of creativity is stark.
21 mins: Enoh knocks the ball beyond full-back Soussi and gives chase ... but he can't retrieve it before it trickles out of play. To show how much that dismayed him, perhaps, he clatters into Soussi, sending the Tunisian tumbling into a coven of crouching photographers. The referee doesn't show a yellow card, possibly because he's too busy laughing.
23 mins: All very scrappy at the moment. Cameroon are going out with a whimper. "Your Actua Soccer correspondent has jogged a memory for me," blurts Andi Thomas. "FIFA 96, on the Super Nintendo. Apart from having to spend a fair proportion of every game yelping in fear and pain thanks to my stepdad, who insisted on throwing himself around the room with every save his 'keeper made, the memory that stands out most clearly is the inept Nigerian goalkeeper. The name escapes me, but he was so bad - so unbelievably, ludicrously, flap-at-every-shot-even-from-the-halfway-line awful - as to make the whole game feel, in retrospect, ever-so-slightly racist. I seem to recall their defence being a touch on the naïve side, too. Happy days, forever tainted by my slow morph into a Guardian reader."
26 mins: Corner to Cameroon. Nguemo makes a rabid dog's dinner of it. "The stage is set for Rigobert to come off the bench and inspire the comeback, surely?" types celebrated wordsmith Jonathan Wilson all the way from Angola. "I'm desperate to do my piece on the Joan Crawford of
African football: every day he puts on more make-up, but he can no
longer hide the signs of age ..."
28 mins: This is degenerating into an foul-tempered affair. Nafkha has just been booked for booting Mandjeck in the face, and an unseemly kerfuffle ensues. Eventually Eto'o pulls himself away from the pushing and shoving to curl a freekick towards the back post, and Song narrowly fails to connect.
GOAL! Gabon 0-1 Zambia (Kalaba 29') I didn't see it, but I can tell you that means the Copper Bullet Boys - managed by former Cambridge United flop Herve Renard - are now poised to make the last eight.
30 mins: As if to pay tribute to the keeper of Andi Thomas's old game, Mathlouthi charges out of his box and handles the ball - it was a senseless deed and he's lucky to be punished with only a yellow. From the resultant freekick, the keeper flaps at Eto'o's shot, but that's enough to turn it behind for a corner.
33 mins: Alex Song snaps a pass in to Makoun, whose control is atrocious. That has been a noticeable failing of Cameroon in this tournament - Song's capacity to deliver a quick and sharp pass is not matched by his team-mates, who struggle to perform with any sort of precision once the tempo is raised. "Re: Herve Renard," begins matt Walker. "Perhaps hedidn't have the right Kalaba of player at Cambridge United?"
35 mins: Eto'o, still foraging around the left, swaps passes with Nguemo and then scoops a pass high over the head of Idrissou. It droops out of play, far, far from the danger zone. That is not how Cameroon are going to turn this match around.
38 mins: This time Eto'o is, at least, in the box when he receives the ball, but he fails to navigate his way past the defender, who completes his spoiling job well by blocking the striker's shot before whacking the ball upfield.
40 mins: Korbi is writhing in agony in the middle of the pitch following a late lunge by Nguemo. It didn't appear to connect with much force, but off goes the Tunisian on a stretcher.
42 mins: Cameroon are monopolising possession but are showing no signs of penetrating a well-drilled and many-manned defence. They lack imagination, speed and, when it comes to the crucial areas, precision.
44 mins: Tunisia almost show Cameroon how it's done with a rapid counter. Mikari raced all the way forward from left-back, effortlessly infiltrating the Cameroonian defence, but shot into the sidenetting.
Half-time: Cameroon wobble on the brink of embarassing failure. It will be deserved. Tactically and technically they are flawed. Tunisia only have to stand firm to triumph. Le Guen has work to do. "Don't know if you noticed on TV, but as Ragued shot into the side-netting, it looked to all this side of the ground as through the ball had gone in, to the extent the ref pointed to the centre-circle," chronicles Jonathan Wilson. Thanks Jonathan, that was not apparenty on the TV - and that sounds like just the sort of official who should be brought to the attention of Bundesliga referee selectors, if this is antyhign to go by.
Idle chitchat: "Barry Davies was always good value for shouting players' names excessively loud, especially on computer games," reckons Paul Frangi. "On the official Euro 96 game Spain had Pizzi as one of their strikers and any time he shot on goal he would scream 'PIIIIIIZZZZZZIIIIII!!!!' Which caused much amusement." And years later, it still doesn't.
More chinwaggery: "Haven't Cameroon made the amateurish mistake made by many a fantasy football manager before," chides Michael Hunt. "In calling themselves the Indomitable Lions, they set themselves up to look stupid the moment they are clearly tamed? The same way it makes you feel better about the failure of your fantasy football team to see 'Top of the Table' battle it out with 'The Greatest' and 'AllStar XI' at the bottom of the fantasy league." Perhaps, Michael, but it is also worth nothing that the opposite does not pertain, viz. choosing a humble and harmless animal as nickname does not set the scene for glorious conquest. Otherwise the Squirrles of Benin would surely be top of the tree.
46 mins: Cameroon have made an inevitable change. Makoun, who was abject, has been replaced by Webo, who wasn't much better in his previous apperance at this tournament. Where is Emana?
GOAL! Cameroon 1-1 Tunisia (Eto'o 47') It was not a thing of beauty to neutral observers, but Paul Le Guen couldn't have wished for a more picturesque sight: the man who he has jsut introduced, Webo, was the architect of the goal that keeps Cameroon's hopes alive, surging on to the ball by the by-line before cutting it back for Eto'o to shunt into the net.
49 mins: Tunisia should have regained the lead immediately! With a simple ball forward they prised the shaky Cameroonian defence apart and Dhaoudi galloped into the box but, with a clear shot the obvious option he elected to play it across the box to ... no one.
51 mins: Corner to Cameroon. Eto'o wastes it.
53 mins: Slack defending by Tunisia, who left Eto'o completely unmarked on the penalty spot. The Inter striker rose to meet Mandjeck's cross but couldn't direct his header on target.
54 mins: By my calculations, since none of you have asked, Cameroon and Zambia will go through to the last eight if the scores in both this afternoon's goal remain the same. Gabon will miss out by dint of having scored fewer goals than that pair.
55 mins: Tunisia, who need to win to prolong their stay in Angola, are beginning to apply serious pressure, firing cross after cross into the Cameroonian box.
57 mins: Eto'o eludes on tackler before being thwarted at the edge of the Tunisian area by Haggui, who wellies the ball clear. Tunisia, by the way, have introduced Ben Saada, a former World Cup winner ... with France's U-17 team (they very team, indeed, that featured Portsmouth and Algeria's Hassan Yebda).
60 mins: Binya takes down Dhaouadi, giving Tunisia a freekick some 35 metres from goal, and coming perilously cloes to earning himself a second yellow card. Le Guen should consider replacing him as his tackling is becoming increasingly reckless ... and EMANA IS STILL ON THE BENCH!
61 mins: Korbi becomes the fifth player to be booked so far, and will miss the next game if Tunisia progress. "Who will finish top if the scores remain the same Paul?" hollers Phil Lewis, who apparently hasn't bothered to read my post on 54 mins. "And if only two teams finish level on points is the order decided on head to head encounters or goal difference? Fundamental questions that are seldomaddressed by television pundits during footballing round robins." Head-to-head record is the primary criteria, then comes goal difference and goals scored.
GOAL! Cameroon 1-2 Tunisia (Chedjou og, 63') Providing all those permutations for the final standings seems redundant now, as Chedjou has just put Tunisia back in front with an outlandish own goal. Under no pressure he met Ben Saada's long ball and sent a looping header over his own keeper from 15 yards!
GOAL! Cameroon 2-2 Tunisia (Nguemo 64') Webo is again the inspiration for the equaliser, receiving the ball in the box and then laying it back to Nguemo, who cracks a low shot into the far corner! Meanwhile, Zambia have gone 2-0 up against Gabon in the group's other game. It was a fierce drive, but the keeper should have done much better. As things stand, the quarter-final line-up will be Egypt v Zambia and, wait for it, Cameroon against Nigeria!
67 mins: Eto'o becomes the latest player to be booked, for dissent would you believe. Of course you would. "Not wanting to get involved in a pretty sad riff here, or in any way show that I haven't changed at all in the past 15 years, but the new Fifa game for some reason requires Fulham's Simon Davies to be referred to as Davies, Simon Davies," spurts Elliot Carr-Barnsley. "As if James Bond. He isn't James Bond."
69 mins: Cameroon change: Binya off, no doubt for fear of him getting dismissed, and on comes not Emana ... but Rigobert Song! Turly, the stage is set for the great man to plunder the winner. Whether that will be by smashing one past Mathlouthi or outdoing Chedjou in the own goals stakes remains to be seen ...
72 mins: Eto'o comes deep to receive the ball and play a lovely reverse pass through to Idrissou, who is wrongly called back for offside. He would have been clean through.
74 mins: Cameroon again thwarted by an erroneous offside decision. Much more of this and Eto'o will soon be feeling an irrepressible urge to dissent again.
76 mins: Nguemo left a Mandjeck cross in the hope that it would run to Webo, but it didn't.
78 mins: Splendid play by Alex Song, winning t he ball in midfield before feinting past two players ... and collapsing to the ground to win a tactical freekick.
79 mins: Lovely trickery by Eto'o at the corner of the box, sucking in two defenders and then slipping the ball back to Webo, who took one touch and then sent a curler fractionally wide from 18 yards.
81 mins: Tunisia change: off comes their goalscorer, Chermiti, on trots Ayachi.
83 mins: Things are getting a little too much for the Tunisians, who are encircling the ref and berating him furiously for his decision to punish Jemal for a barge on Eyong. Meanwhile, Gabon have set the scene for a late twist by pulling a goal back against Zambia thanks to Marcelinho - one more and they go through.
85 mins: Tunisia change: ragued off, M'Barat on.
86 mins: Haggui heads a high over the bar after rising to meet a long freekick. "As an Arsenal fan, is it wrong for me to want Cameroon to lose?" wonder Marlon Lorde. "We need our him back and fresh to face Man Utd on the 31st. Come on Tunisia!" Song has been excellent in this game, and in the previous ones.
88 mins: A red card has long seemed inevitable in this matcgh and it should come any second now because Jemal has just got his second yellow for a petulant push in the back of Idrissou. After much hesitation the ref saves himself from a Graham Poll moment by finally flourishing the red. Off trudges Jemal, booting a bottle on his way.
89 mins: Cameroon substitution: Nguemo off, Bikey on.
90 mins: There will be six minutes of injury time, which provides ample scope for more fun in this increasingly helter-skelter game. One goal changes the entire group.
90+2 mins: An extravagant fall by Eto'o doesa not yield a freekick and Tunisia hurtle down the other end in desperate search of the goal they need. It wasn't a dive by Eto'o - Haggui clatteered him - and that miscarriage of justice does not prove significant as the Tunisian attack peters out well short of the box.
90+4 mins: Bikey dons the unlikely garb of midfield general and pulls off the roll with aplomb, directing his troops forward with a series of deft passes ... until they reach the brink of the Tunisian box, where the move breaks down. Meanwhile in Lubango, Zambia celebrate the end of their game against Gabon and their passage to the quarter-final.
90+5 mins: Korbi loses his balance when in prime position to deliver a dangerous cross, and instead wafts the ball into the crowd behind the goal.
Full-time Cameroon go through thanks to a second half transformation and their long acclaimed resilience. Their quarter-final against Nigeria promises to be a mighty clash.
Nigeria rout Mozambique to reach Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals
Peter Odemwingie scored either side of half-time as Nigeria sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with victory over Mozambique.
The Lokomotiv Moscow forward scored in the 45th and 48th minutes, before the substitute Obafemi Martins added a third with a late strike to hand the under-fire Shaibu Amodu a welcome boost.
The Super Eagles manager, whose side lost to Egypt in the opening game before edging past Benin, needed a win to secure their place in the next round. They created the first chance after just three minutes when Odemwingie and Mikel John Obi exchanged quick passes, but there was no one in the penalty area to pounce on a square ball from the Chelsea midfielder.
Minutes later sloppy play between Campira and Dario Khan saw an attempted clearance by the latter fall straight into the path of Chinedu Obasi, whose 12-yard shot from the left was parried away by Joao Rafael Kapango in the Mozambique goal.
Despite dominating possession and displaying some slick passing, the Mambas failed to create many openings in the first 20 minutes with their best efforts coming from distance – Paito first failing to trouble Vincent Enyeama with a wayward strike, before Genito's shot was straight at the Nigerian goalkeeper.
At the other end, Obasi missed with a header from two-yards out when Danny Shittu nodded a free-kick into the path of the Hoffenheim striker.
Four minutes before half-time, Mozambique's Miro came closest to breaking the deadlock with a low strike from just outside the area that came back off the right post.
And just as it seemed the two sides would be level at the break, Odemwingie caught out Kapango with a shot from just outside the penalty area seconds before the interval.
The advantage was doubled in the third minute after the restart when a sweeping break saw Obasi play Yakubu in on the left and his cross enabled Odemwingie to finish from close range.
Martins wrapped up the victory four minutes from the end when another error saw the Mozambican defence dispossessed once more and, when Mikel's shot was saved, the former Newcastle United striker was on hand to apply the finishing touch.
Victor Obinna should have made it 4-0, but missed an easy one-on-one chance at the death as the Super Eagles eased into the next round alongside the Group C winners, Egypt.
