Egypt vs Cameroon – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Match Preview
This fixture - kicking-off at 16:00 GMT – will be a repeat of the crunching Africa Cup of Nations final in 2008.
Egypt and Cameroon should know each other pretty well by now, as they met twice in the previous edition of the tournament which was held in Ghana about 24 months ago.
Egypt
At this time, that particular match will not be less important for the Pharaohs, for a defeat would sadly end their road to the final which will take place on the 31st of January.
The Egyptians have set a new record in the Africa Cup of Nations, being unbeaten in 16 matches in the finals of the tournament.
Egypt qualified for the quarter-finals of the CAN 2010 after a 2-0 win over Benin on Wednesday, January 20 with goals coming from Ahmed El Mohamady, and Emad Moteab.
Arguably, Cameroon will be the toughest country the Pharaohs will meet in this competition, and anything could surely happen.
Beyond doubt, winning this clash will be Egypt’s top priority, but aside their target of being finalists, this encounter will be a hugely meaningful one for Captain Ahmed Hassan, who will be breaking the current African record of 169 appearances for a national team.
Cameroon
The Indomitable Lions narrowly secured their place in the quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw against Tunisia.
Unlike Egypt who finished at the top of Group C, Cameroon ended their run in Group D in second place behind leaders Zambia.
Nonetheless, the Cameroonians were still able to enter the knockout phase, and that is emphatically the most important thing for them.
As runners-up of the CAN 2008, Cameroon are not expected to fall into the hands of the Pharaohs on another occasion.
On the contrary, fans are looking ahead to seeing their team performing wonderfully, powered by the likes of Samuel Eto’o & co.
Eto’o was on the scoring for the Indomitable Lions in his last game against the Eagles of Carthage, but no matter if he gets his name on the scoring sheet or not for his side against Egypt on January 25, what will be essential in the end will be to wind up victorious.
This, for sure, is something Cameroon are well-aware of, as they clearly understand the rule of the quarter-finals in the Africa Cup of Nations: the winner continues his road to glory, while the loser goes home.
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Zambia vs Nigeria – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Match Preview
Zambia will fight Nigeria at the Estadio Alto da Chela, in the last game of the day, at 19:30 GMT.
Zambia
The Zambians finished as the prominent side of Group D, and they are now among the last 8 participants of the contest.
Their last match was won 2-1 over Gabon on January 21st, and in fact, it was that victory which gifted them a place in the quarter-finals.
Bringing down the Super Eagles of Nigeria is now the next mission of the Chipolopolo, and really, they have no choice but to stun their opponents. The Zambians haven’t been bad at all in Angola, and they are presently renowned for their resistance.
The Zambia head coach Hervé Renard, who is proud of his national team’s qualification into the knockout phase after 14 years of dissatisfaction, confidently told the press that his side has good chances of conquering the Nigerians.
“Our target now is to reach the semi-final,” he declared.
“Nigeria are strong, but we still have good chances against them. Our target was to reach the quarter-finals and that is what we have done, so we have nothing to lose now.
"But for sure, the pressure is on them (Nigeria), not on us”.
Nigeria
On the other hand, Nigeria are also full of self-belief ahead of their quarter-final encounter against Zambia due to their 3-0 win over Mozambique on January 20.
The Nigerians qualified into the next stage with 6 points – either 3 points behind Egypt – but the fact that their match showed a lot of positives for them is what gives them a major boost for the rest of the tournament.
Peter Odemwingie, the Nigerian winger and the scorer of two goals against the Mambas, even revealed after the match that the Super Eagles could cruise all the way to the final and win the cup.
“My goals (against Mozambique), have brought out the confidence (in the Nigerian squad),” he said.
“Now, we believe that we can go on to win the cup; because if we give our all, nobody can stop us.
"We are a great football nation, and anybody who wears our national colors should be prepared to carry the weight of responsibility that goes with it.”
The winner of this crunching match will face either Egypt of Cameroon in the semifinals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
