Egypt v Cameroon an ‘early final’ - El-Solia

by Graeme Jackson

Tuesday Feb 01, 2022. 10:00

Egypt midfielder and vice-captain Amr El-Solia has described the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations clash against Cameroon as an “early final”.

The Pharaohs earned their place in the final four of the AFCON thanks to come-from-behind 2-1 win over North African rivals Morocco on Sunday.

The hot-tempered match was decided by Mohamed Salah, who scored Egypt’s equaliser and set-up the extra-time winner netted by Mahmoud Trezeguet. Morocco had led early on through a penalty from Sofiane Boufal.

The Pharaohs’ reward is a place in the second semifinal in Yaounde on Thursday night, which will see them take on hosts Cameroon in a repeat of the 2017 AFCON final. On that occasion the Indomitable Lions came from behind to win 2-1 and claim a fifth continental crown.

El-Solia reflected on the victory and Morocco and then looked ahead to the eagerly-anticipated clash against Cameroon.

“I’d like to say hard luck to the Moroccan national team, they played a good game,” he is quoted by KingFut.

“We didn’t want to lose for being out of focus, we had the determination to come out victorious.

“Cameroon game will definitely be difficult, it’ll be an early final to the tournament.

“I’d like to thank the Egyptian fans for believing in us, especially after the last game.”

The winner of the Cameroon v Egypt game will face either Senegal or Burkina Faso in the AFCON final in Yaounde on the evening of Sunday 6 February.