JEDDAH — Joy and jubilation swept the streets of Cairo last night after defending champions Egypt retained the African Nations Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Cameroon in the final in Accra, Ghana.
In a hard-fought battle Egypt came out on top over Cameroon thanks to a well-taken goal by Mohamed Aboutraika who plays for Ahly in Egypt. The match could have been won by a larger margin as Egypt had several chances to put the game out of reach long before the final whistle.
The first half was a competitive and physical battle with each team giving their all. During the first half, Egypt had the pick of chances with Moteab missing a golden chance in the 36th minute after he was through on goal. Before that they had had chances as well but had not been able to take them. Cameroon and Arsenal midfielder Alex Song was taken off early in the first half due to injury.
Egypt showed a lot of technical ability going forward and being able to move the ball around freely. Cameroon adopted a more physical approach and tried to hit Egypt on the counter. Their star striker, Samuel Eto’o, was quiet in the first half and only had one chance which he could not capitalize on. Both teams went into the break goalless with Cameron being happier that they had kept a clean sheet and Egypt’s coach Hassan Shehata annoyed at his side’s inability to make the most of their chances. The fast pace of the game continued in the second half. Egypt started to take control of the game with Mohamed Hassan shining for his team. They had several more chances until they got the breakthrough in the 77th minute when Aboutrika did well to latch on to a Mohamed Zidan pass after a poor defending by Cameroon. The goal woke up Cameroon but they were unable to create a clear chance in the last few minutes of the match with defender Song coming closest with a header in injury time.
Coach Shehata and the rest of the team and supporters broke into a frenzied celebration when the final whistle was blown and Egypt won their record sixth title in the competition. The Egyptian political leadership, which telephoned Shehata to congratulate him on the victory, has extended his contract up to 2010 when the World Cup will be held in South Africa. A number of Saudi and Egyptian soccer fans commended Shehata’s achievement and said it would encourage many Arab countries to employ national coaches to train their teams.
The result was the Pharaohs final act in what has been a hugely impressive campaign in Ghana which saw them build on defeat of the Cameroonians in their opening group game to record victories over Sudan, Tunisia and Ivory Coast in the semifinals. The only minor blemish on an otherwise perfect passage to the continental trophy was the 1-1 draw with Zambia.
Egypt were adding the 2008 trophy to their wins in 1957, 1959, 1986 (on penalties against Cameroon), 1998 and 2006 with coach Shehata joining an exclusive club numbering just two of coaches who have won back-to-back titles.
— With additional input from agencies
