Egypt Are CAN 2008 Winners

Cameroon 0 - 1 Egypt

Egypt deserved their win in Accra, but Cameroon - who had held out well for the most part - eventually only fell victim to a simply suicidal goal...

Egypt are the 2008 champions of Africa after defending their 2006 title and lifting the hallowed trophy for a record sixth time.

After over 75 goalless minutes, Egypt finally managed the strike that they deserved on the balance of play, but one that came in such strange circumstances.

It was dreadfully ironic - not least for Rigobert Song - that in a tournament so laden with brilliant strikes and wonder-goals, that the most decisive clash of all would be settled not by attacking genius, but by opportunism and an absolute howler from Cameroon stopper Song.

To start with, though, things were slightly more even.

Within two minutes, Cameroon had pressed forward twice, with Eto'o blasting a header over the bar from close range after Geremi's fine cross, with the referee seeing no deflection off an Egyptian defender.

Egypt tried to hit on the break soon afterwards, but all too often their first touch let them down in the final third.

Mbia conceded a free kick six minutes in after a foul on Abou Trika just outside the box, and it looked as if Espanyol 'keeper Carlos Kameni was about to face his first test. This he did, but the stopper held Hosny's effort well.

Kameni had to be on guard again to keep Moawad's admittedly weak effort out seconds later. and Abou Trika had another effort palmed wide 12 minutes in.

Alex Song had to limp off with an injury on the quarter-hour, with Binga coming on, necessitating a reshuffle in the midfield.

It was an afternoon of long-range efforts, with Geremi clipping a free-kick goalwards from 25 yards, only for El Hadary to save, albeit without confidence.

Then, on the break, poor defending and some fine teamwork saw Motab go one-on-one, only for Kameni to save. Abou Trika then inexplicably blasted the rebound over the bar.

Egypt's play had been nervy all over the pitch, but as the 20 minute mark came and went, they began to rediscover their structured approach to the game, and thus appeared more secure both with and without the ball. Chatto had to be at his best on more than one occasion to halt these attacks with a last-ditch challenge.

Cameroon, meanwhile, couldn't find the final ball, with Emana of particular culpability when he fluffed a great chance to play Eto'o through on goal on the break.

After a spell of midfield play, Eto'o eventually did receive a through ball, albeit one that he had to take around Shady Mohamed. From his acute angle out on the left, he could only drill a shot wide of the far post.

Then came the best chance of the game so far. A tremendous ball over the top found Motab one-on-one with Kameni, only for the forward to hit the ball straight at the 'keeper. The rebound came the striker's way, too, but a timely intervention saw the chance disappear.

As the half wore on, it became increasingly cagey, with Egypt's long-range efforts now either flying over the bar or straight into Kameni's hands. As such, it was no surprise when the half ended 0-0, with the most notable moments being injuries, necessitating plenty of stoppage time in the heat of the afternoon.

After the break, Amr Zaki came close down the left, only for his narrow-angled effort to be parried and then cleared by Cameroon. The break displayed the Indomitable Lions' woes, as even though they managed to get the ball forward, Eto'o was without support, and was fortunate to even get a corner.

Egypt then enjoyed their own spell of corners at the other end, and one of these eventually culminated in a superb long-range shot that left Kameni, unsighted, scrambling to save.

The Pharoahs were beginning to dominate the midfield play, although a lack of a final ball was still letting them down, most of all when Motab should have found the unmarked Abou Trika in the box, but blasted his cross far too hard.

Motab then came off for Zidan, with the Egyptians intent on changing the game - and they so nearly did.

Hosny very, very nearly managed to break the deadlock with a powerful header - admittedly born of poor defending - but with Kameni nowhere, his far-post effort smacked off the post.

M'Bami came on for Epalle, joining Idrissou (on for Emana) to become the Lions' third sub, and Cameroon had to use what they had.

But the pace of the game was starting to decline, with only speculative crosses to Idrissou really rousing the crowd. Admittedly, one was a fine ball in from M'Bami, but the Duisburg man could only sky his header.

Then, incredibly, Cameroon threw it all away.

More accurately, Rigobert Song did. The defender, the former champion, the father, the emblematic captain, threw it all away.

Inexplicably, he dallied on the ball under pressure from Zidan, failing to snuff out an Egyptian counter. The Hamburg man, winning the ball with a tremendous show of strength, managed to play the ball across the edge of the box for the onrushing Abou Trika, who gratefully side-footed home into an empty net. Egypt deserved their win on the balance of play, but what a way to get it!

Cameroon had to think fast, but their cross on the break soon after conceding was easily gathered by the rock-steady Al Hadari.

They could feel hard-done-by a few seconds later as, right on the edge of the box, Eto'o and Shady both went up for the ball, with the Barcelona striker's overhead kick seeing the ball hit Shady's hand. The referee promptly gave a free-kick against Cameroon, presumably for high feet. Regardless of what it was for, the Lions' players and coach alike were disgusted.

Cameroon then managed to split the defence with some good passing play down the right, with M'Bia being able to get the shot on, only for El-Hadari to push it to safety.

Egypt had begun to show a bit of nerves, sitting back on the edge of the area, as Cameroon enjoyed their only truly creative spell in the game. However, even with corners they were unable to test the 'keeper overmuch, and Egypt set themselves up for the counter.

Here, they were caught offside as stoppage time began, betraying the level to which Cameroon had pushed forward. Yet again, though, there was no end product.

Egypt deserved their win. After a somewhat rushed and tetchy start, they regained the shape that has made them so tough to beat - and sometimes so impressive on the attack - throughout this tournament.

M'bia did well to hold up the ball in the box and try a snapshot with 90 seconds to go, but he could only sky his effort wide as the exhausted Cameroonians threw the dice.

Rigobert Song had the chance to become a hero just seconds from the end, but the captain - inevitably - could only head over the bar. The game was over.

Cameroon, meanwhile, were second-best for most of the game, but arguably didn't deserve to lose like this. When "real" chances came their way, they dealt with them. But if one gives away gilt-edged chances against champions, one cannot be surprised when they take them.

La Liga Round-Up: Atleti Back On Track, Espanyol Shocked, Zaragoza Fall

Saturday 9 February 2008 (all times local)
20:00 Real Murcia 0 - 1 Villarreal
20:00 Deportivo 1 - 1 Getafe
22:00 Sevilla 1 - 1 Barcelona
Sunday 10 February
17:00 Osasuna 1 - 0 Zaragoza
17:00 Athletic 1 - 0 Levante
17:00 Racing 0 - 2 Atletico Madrid
17:00 Mallorca 0 - 0 Almeria
17:00 Espanyol 1 - 2 Recreativo
19:00 Real Madrid L - L Valladolid
21:00 Valencia L - L Betis

Deportivo La Coruna 1 - 1 Getafe

Getafe finally grabbed a point at what has hitherto been a barren arena for them, thanks to Ikechukwu Uche's post-African Cup of Nations comeback.

Depor had the best of the first half, and even without Andres Guardado were apt to use the flanks well.

Thus it was no surprise when they took the lead just before the interval, with Felipe's cross from the right flank meeting Pablo Amo, whose header deflected off Geta defender Mario into his own net.

After the break, Getafe appeared far more aggressive, pouring pressure on Fabri's goal. Eventually it paid off, with substitute Ikechukwu Uche, only just back from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Nigeria, slamming home 20 minutes from time.

He was to have more chances, but an unwillingness to pass found him all too easily crowded out, and Depor thus held onto a merited point.

CA Osasuna 1 - 0 Real Zaragoza

Osasuna edged out Zaragoza to end the blanquillos' recent renaissance, and help the Pamplonans towards safety.

The two sides started in cagey fashion, but as the half wore on, there were chances for each of them.

Osasuna, fielding an attack-minded lineup, had the best of them, but Ricardo had to be alert for the threat of Oliveira at the other end.

Right on half time, the rojillos got a merited goal through Jaroslav Plasil, who controlled a high ball beautifully before clipping the ball past Cesar.

The second half kicked off in scrappy fashion, and it took quite a while for the first real chance to come. Zaragoza, despite making two attacking changes, didn't have much of a look-in.

Indeed, the best opportunity fell to Delporte six minutes from time, but the Frenchman's effort rattled the post. Still, his side had done enough, and 1-0 it ended.

Athletic Club Bilbao 1 - 0 Levante UD

Levante remain in deep trouble as Athletic managed a relatively routine win at San Mames.

The Lions had the best of the first half, with Llorente and Yeste particularly active.

Long-range efforts and set-pieces gave both sides their best chances, with most of them taking place at Kujovic's goal.

Such pressure eventually resulted in a goal, albeit in strange circumstances. Kujovic fluffed a clearance, allowing Aduriz to seize the ball and play it across the goal for Llorente, who eagerly hit home.

Levante had to resort to long balls, but Athletic looked relatively comfortable throughout, and were able to hold onto their lead.

Real Racing Club 0 - 2 Club Atlético de Madrid

Atleti's mini-crisis drew to a close as Racing surrendered their fine home record to a Diego Forlan double.

Racing started off brightly, with Abbiati needing to come off his line on more than one occasion to deal with surging crosses.

Ivan Bolado shot just over 20 minutes in as Racing continued to impress, but neither he nor his teammates could find the finish.

Eventually, Atletico began to control the mdifield, and even got forward to give Forlan a couple of good occasions, but the hour mark came and went without a goal to speak of.

But their pressure paid off when Forlan grabbed a much-needed, confidence-boosting goal just before the hour mark after a poor clearance from Racing.

It could have been 2-0 immediately after, but for Coltorti's fine save from Simao's close-range effort, and he had to be alert again to stop Aguero immediately afterwards.

It was clear as to which way the tide was turning, and Forlan duly managed a second fifteen minutes from time with a powerful effort from mid-range, and the game was over as a contest.

RCD Mallorca 0 - 0 UD Almería

Neither side could quite find their cutting edge in this goalless stalemate.

In an active start to the game, Ramis came close at one end before Corona shot just wide at the other.

Almeria were clearly high on confidence after their exploits last week, but overall the game was largely based in the midfield, the hosts being equally eager to impress.

Crusat and Corona both had half-chances before the break, but Trejo was threatening at the other end as the period of balance continued into the second half.

Any time there was a threat in front of goal, the respective 'keepers were able to deal with it, although Diego Alves' save six minutes from time was of particular brilliance after fine work from Arango and Guiza.

It seemed destined to end 0-0, and thus it stayed.

RCD Espanyol 1 - 2 Recreativo de Huelva

The "new manager effect" struck yet again as Manolo Zambrano's charges raced to victory at Montjuic.

Recre started well, and duly managed the lead 17 minutes in when Florent Sinama-Pongolle smashed mercilessly past Casilla.

Just eight minutes later, the Frenchman made it two after some superb forward movement from left-back Poli, who found Sinama-Pongolle at the far post for an easy finish.

Debutant Ewerthon managed to bundle the ball home after a Luis Garcia corner just before the break, but Recre finished the half brightly.

After the break, though, Sorrentino had to pull off a fine save from Riera and then Luis Garcia missed a great chance as Espanyol tried to fight back.

The perequitos did manage to dominate possession, but Recre were arguably just as dangerous on the break, meaning that they left quite worthy winners.