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Cameroon will host Egypt at Paul Biya Stadium in Yaounde on Thursday night hoping to claim a win to set up a final with Senegal who made it to the last hurdle after a 3-1 win over Burkina Faso on Wednesday.
For the Pharaohs, it will be a massive test to play the hosts. Egypt struggled in the 2019 edition, and getting past the Indomitable Lions will be a statement to their fans that they are at their best again.
The hosts were placed in Group A alongside Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Ethiopia. They ended up collecting two wins in the phase and a draw, scoring seven goals and conceding three.
In the Round of 16, they defeated Comoros 2-1 to make it to the last eight where they silenced The Gambia 2-0.
After falling by a solitary goal to Nigeria in the Group D opener, Egypt bounced back with wins over Sudan and Guinea-Bissau to ensure they can advance to the knockout stage.
They went on to eliminate Ivory Coast on penalties before sending Morocco packing in the last eight.
| Game | Cameroon vs Egypt |
| Date | Thursday, February 3, 2022 |
| Time | 21:00 SA Time - (19:00 GMT) |
TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch
| Online Streaming | TV Channel |
|---|---|
| DStv.com/DStv Now App https://www.showmax.com/eng/welcome/za | SuperSport TV's PSL channel 202/SuperSport TV's Variety 3 channel 208 |
Squads & Team News
Cameroon have all their players available and they will look to Karl Toko Ekambi and his captain Vincent Aboubakar who have scored the team's 11 goals out of 12.
The former has scored five goals while the latter has hit the back of the net six times.
BackpageThe Indomitable Lions' technical bench might stick with the back four of Collins Fai, Nouhou Tolo, Jean-Charles Castelletto, and Michael Ngadeu who have been playing together in the last two games. They might be starting their third game in a row.
The midfield duo of Nicolas Moumie Ngamaleu and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa who has started in the team's five matches in the competition is also expected to be retained.
There is no injury concerns for the hosts who are coming into the match as favourites owing to home support.
BackpagePix.Mohamed Salah has scored or assisted the Pharaohs' four goals in the competition which makes him the obvious threat.
However, Egypt will have to do without midfielder Hamdi Fathi who picked an injury in last Wednesday's Round of 16 game against Ivory Coast. Ayman Ashraf, who played in the win over Morocco, might be given another start.
24-year-old Akram Tawfik is out due to the injury sustained in the 1-0 loss to Nigeria within the first 11 minutes alongside Ahmed Hegazy who had to come off in a win over the Atlas Lions.
The woes for Egypt don't end there; goalkeepers Mohamed El-Shenawy and Gabaski are not expected to feature owing to injuries sustained against the Elephants and Morocco respectively meaning third choice Mohamed Sobhy will continue in goal.
Match Preview
Thursday's meeting will be the 11th Afcon encounter between the two sides, no two teams have met on more occasions in the competition’s history.
Egypt have won three of their last four Afcon games against the Indomitable Lions, losing once. They have scored nine goals, this is after netting just twice across their previous six encounters against them in the competition, in which they managed one win, two draws, and three losses.
Cameroon have advanced from seven of their nine semi-final matches at Afcon, only their opponents the Pharaohs (8) have made it through this round more often in the competition.
The Afcon hosts have been eliminated in three of their last five semi-final matches in the competition, with Egypt being the last such team to progress from this round when they won 2-1 against Senegal in 2006.
Since the beginning of 2017, no player has been directly involved in more goals (9) at the biennial competition than Liverpool star Mohamed Salah who has managed six goals and three assists, or Cameroon skipper Vincent Aboubakar who has scored seven goals and managed two assists.