By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
After three years of preparations, host of the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Cameroon will Sunday kick off the 33rd edition of the continent’s biggest football tournament with a top of the bill clash against Burkina Faso at the impressive Olembe stadium in Yaounde by 4 pm local time.
Cameroon whose senior football team tagged the Indomitable Lions have high hopes of lifting the trophy for the sixth time on home soil will come all out to look for the three points against Burkina Faso in the opening match.
The five-time Champions Cameroon are looking for new glory in their 20th participation in the Africa’s flagship biennial football competition after they were declared champions of Africa in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and 2017.
Though Cameroon had automatic qualification for the tournament being the host, they nevertheless, participated in the qualifiers and recorded some interesting results thus:
- Cameroon 0-0 Cape Verde
- Rwanda 0-1 Cameroon
- Cameroon 4-1 Mozambique
- Mozambique 0-2 Cameroon
- Cape Verde 3-1 Cameroon
*.Cameroon 0-0 Rwanda
The Indomitable Lions tutored by the Portuguese Coach António “Toni” Conceiçao, will however meet a strong opponents in Stallions of Burkina Faso, runners-up in 2013 AFCON which Nigeria’s Super Eagles won in South Africa.
With some experienced players like defender, Issoufou Dayo who plays club football with RS Berkane of Morocco; Forward Bertrand Traoré of Aston Villa, England and attacker, Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba of Standard Liege in Belgium, Burkina Faso can hold their own against Cameroon on the day.
After missing the last edition in Egypt, Burkina Faso Stallions are back in 2021 AFCON to prove a point just as their Burkinabe Coach Kamou Malo has said: “Our team is one of the dark horses. We have a young but very talented a squad”.
“An ambitious group of players with great solidarity and unity. Taking these values into consideration, we can cause surprises”, he warned.
The Indomitable Lions should therefore take this warning seriously if they do not want to go the way of Malawi, Uganda and South Sudan which Burkina Faso eliminated to pick the ticket for 2021 AFCON.
It is therefore left for Coach “Toni” Conceiçao to select a crack team from the stars in the Indomitable Lions to give Burkina Faso a good fight even as he thinks his team will do well in the competition if they remain positive.
“I believe we have to think positively. We need to work hard and be up to our responsibility to bring back the good days of Cameroonian football”, Coach “Toni” Conceiçao said.
A positive result for either of the two countries will give the victorious side impetus to do better in the remaining matches ahead.
Let the better side win.
