Football
Pharaohs cross swords with Black Stars in ultimate showdown
Posted Saturday, January 30 2010 at 20:00
In Summary
- Champions Egypt start as favourites but Ghana confident of winning the crown
Egypt meet Ghana on Sunday in a fascinating final of the 27 African Nations Cup at the Estadio 11 de Novembro in Luanda .
The Pharaohs, the most successive nation in the tournament with a record six titles, are going for an unprecedented third win in row, while Ghana, one of the most feared teams of the 1960s and 70s will be looking for their fourth trophy.
But curiously, the two sides have met only twice before at the Nations Cup, drawing 1-1 in Sudan 1970 and Ghana winning 1-0 in Senegal 1992.
They reached the final in contrasting style. The more impressive Egypt brushed aside all their opponents with seeming disdain. They began with a 3-1 thumping of declining Nigeria, and identical 2-0 victories against Mozambique and Benin to top their group.
A fired up Cameroon came up in the quarterfinals but after valiant resistance were dispatched 3-1 in extra time. The much anticipated clash with bitter rivals Algeria in the end was never a contest as the Pharaohs comfortably won 4-0.
Possession football
By then they had scored a tournament leading 14 goals and consigned three World Cup bound teams to the Angola 2010 dust bin.
Ghana in comparison, have had to work very hard to reach this stage. Depleted by injury they went down 3-1 to Cote d’Ivoire but managed to squeeze one past Burkina Faso in their must win last group match to sneak into the quarter-finals.
Highly defensive 1-0 wins against hosts Angola in the quarterfinals and Nigeria in the semi-finals was enough to get them to the final stage.
Based on these accounts, the free scoring Egypt under the wily Hassan Shehata begin as the overwhelming favourites. The Pharaohs have played some of the best football in the tournament backed by a set of highly technical players led by their indefatigable captain Hassan Ahmed.
Their passing, possession football and deadly finishing has made them stand out from the rest in Angola and they will be confident of ending this unlikely run of the youthful Ghanaians.
The Black Stars may be dealt a heavy blow with the uncertainty of Richard Kingson’s availability. By Saturday the Ghana camp had not ruled on his fitness to start on Sunday after he aggravated a thigh muscle in the semi-final on Thursday.
Competitive enough
At 31, Kingson is one of the few regular senior players in the Ghana side and his heroics and calming head has helped carry the Black Stars this far.
Coach Milovan Rajevac tried to downplay the worry over Kingson saying he had a set of players who were competitive enough to fight for the cup.
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