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Cameroon kicks off the second day of the CAN group stage on Thursday against Ethiopia. After its narrow success against Burkina Faso in the opening, the Indomitable Lions finally want to mark the spirits, against a modest Ethiopian team, beaten in their first match.
Cameroon struggled to get rid of Burkina Faso (2-1) in the opening match of CAN-2022. For its second match against Ethiopia, Thursday, January 13, the host country will be expected at the turn.
On the eve of this meeting, coach Toni Conceiçao returned to a press conference on this complicated start to the competition. “It was difficult for us, as for the others. We saw it with Senegal and Algeria. It makes sense at the start of the tournament,” he said. “We know what the emotional charge that an opening match represents for the Cameroonian people, and therefore for the players, means. And that made this meeting very difficult.”
For midfielder Samuel Oum Gouet, however, this pressure should be put into perspective: “I don’t think playing in front of our home crowd had a special impact. It was a football match with its realities. It’s difficult. to enter a tournament. We were not tense. And we knew how to show our character “.
Against Ethiopia, a more modest team, the Indomitable Lions will have the opportunity to show a better face and win their ticket to the round of 16 if they win. “Ethiopia is a more accessible team than Burkina, even Cape Verde, but it is a determined team. And it will not be easy,” however tempered the Cameroon coach.
The Portuguese technician will be able to count on his captain Vincent Boubakar, the man in form of the first match, who scored the two Cameroonian goals from the penalty spot. As Burkina Faso led 1-0 and the shadow of failure hovered over Olembé stadium, its foot did not shake. “Abu has a lot of experience in this competition,” said Toni Conceiçao, who recalls his winning goal with a magnificent end at the end of the 2017 final against Egypt, the fifth CAN of the Indomitable Lions. The striker of Al-Nassr Riyad, trained at the Cotonsport Garoua school, “is respected by his teammates, he represents the coach very well, he is a leader,” added the Portuguese. “He’s a very great player on and off the pitch as well.”
“Give positive emotions to the country”
The Ethiopian Antelopes are warned. After losing to Cape Verde (0-1), the Walya know they are a small thumb in Group A. “Cameroon is a great football nation compared to Ethiopia. It is also the host country. It is not easy to say that we are going to win, but we believe in ourselves “, thus described Elshaday Bekema, the tactical analyst of the selection at the microphone of France 24.
In a press conference, coach Wubetu Abate also agreed: “We know that Cameroon has a strong team, coupled with great experience. But we are ready to do our best. We lost our first match. Our goal is to do better.
But he will have to do without one of his best players, Shemeles Bekele, who suffered a hamstring injury in training, and “probably forfeited” for the entire competition, according to Wubutu Abate. Centerpiece of the selection, the player from El Gouna, Egypt, is one of only two expatriates on Ethiopia’s 28-player roster, along with Mujib Kassim, striker from JS Kabylie, Algeria.
Even if on paper, everything is against her, the Ethiopian delegation wants to believe in a start from its team. After more than a year of civil war, the players are keen to offer a little joy to their compatriots, as emphasized to France 24 Samuel Seleshi, the psychologist of the selection: “In relation to what he happening in our country, they want to win a game even more to give the country positive emotions and energy for the Ethiopians. It gives extra motivation. We really need it. “
The other group A meeting will oppose Cape Verde to Burkina Faso at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
With AFP
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