Egypt secured their place in the final by beating Cameroon on penalties on Thursday in a semi-final held at the Olembé stadium. The Pharaohs can thank Gabasky, author of two saves during the penalty shootout.
At the end of the night -or boredom-, Egypt eliminated Cameroon from their CAN at home by being more skilful during the penalty session. The Pharaohs will face Senegal on Sunday. For the Indomitable Lions, the dream of a home coronation collapses.
Galvanized by their public returning to Olembé ten days after the tragedy that cost the lives of eight people, Cameroon had nevertheless put the pressure on entry, looking for their two scorers: Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko-Ekambi.
Salah plants a first banderilla, his shot from the left passes over the cage of Onana (7th). Ngamaleu tries to reply with a free kick. It’s no problem for Gabaski (13th). On the other hand, he shivers when, on a corner struck from the right, Ngadeu places a header which comes to smash on the Egyptian stop. Aboubakar then tries to push the ball deep, but it’s wide (18th). A few moments later, Ngadeu, again him, gets tangled up on a ball that was lying in the area when the goal was open (20th).
Cameroon is looking for a loophole
Egypt is trying to bring down the pace set by the Cameroonians but they are still pushing. Without however converting their domination: Ngamaleu enters the surface from the left side and makes the difference on his opponent. The Cameroonian crosses back towards Toko Ekambi who misses his recovery (32nd).
Opposite, Egypt is trying to be a murderer on the counter. At the start of the action, Salah superbly deflects the ball which deceives the entire Cameroonian defense but Marmoush procrastinates too much. In the continuity of the action, a ball arrives on the head of Faty and Onana has to do a tap dance (40th). The action was ultimately offside.
The half-time ends with a phase without madness where the only action is a huge head-to-head clash between the Cameroonian Ngadeu and the Egyptian Hamdy. The two eventually get up.
The Egyptians return with the best intentions on the lawn. The newcomer Trezeguet is very restless on his left side and the Pharaohs are finally showing initiative. Hongla fails to offer the match on a plateau with a more than hazardous back pass for Onana. Salah prowls but the Cameroonian goalkeeper makes the perfect exit 25 meters from his goal (56th).
Egypt breaks the rhythm
The Indomitable Lions are always looking for the flaw. Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu (sends a quality cross into the area, but Abdelmonem prevents Aboubakar’s recovery (61st). Toko-Ekambi deflects a free kick with a header but Gabaski is present (68th). Noum Gouet tries a 30 missile meters which touches the post (70th).
Often on the ground, the Egyptians struggle to break the rhythm and prevent the game from continuing. The coach of the Pharaohs, Carlos Queroz, receives a red card, by dint of agitating and protesting on the side (90th). A sanction that had been hanging over him for several matches.
Egypt comfortable in extra time
For the extra time, Egypt seems paradoxically more at ease physically than its adversary when it has already endured two 120-minute matches. The Pharaohs are becoming more and more threatening. Trezeguet tries his luck at the corner of the surface but his shot is blocked (95th). Mohamed Salah also takes his chance but it goes to the left of the goal (101st). Cameroon now seems breathless and without ideas.
Both teams simply spend the second period of overtime waiting for the penalty shootout. It must be said that the Pharaohs and the Lions are not helped by the lawn whose degraded quality ends up transforming the match into an extension into a parody of football full of slips.
A penalty session that Cameroon completely misses, paralyzed by the challenge. Harold Moukoudi, Léa Siliki and Clinton Njie all miss their shots on goal, offering Egypt the final on a plateau. The dream of a home title ends here. For Egypt, on the other hand, the eighth star is closer than ever.
