2017 Africa Cup

Cameroon and Egypt, led by Hugo Broos and Hector Cuper respectively, have eschewed attacking flair over a three-week period where favourites Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal have grossly underperformed or eliminated by the tightest margins to defy pre-tournament expectations.

This was supposed to be the worst Cameroon side in recent memory, at least on paper, and with Egypt returning to Africa’s premier competition for the first time since 2010 following a cascade of unfortunate events that saw them miss three consecutive competitions, no one expected them to make it this far in Gabon.

In a competition where the purists and most entertaining sides have fallen by the way side, it’s perhaps a little unfair that two of the least exciting teams have the chance to be crowned champions but the very nature of AFCON, and indeed, all cup competitions, is to make oneself hard to beat safely in the knowledge that there are no extra points awarded for attacking verve and breathless derring-do.

For Cameroon, this has been a surprising battle against the odds as they reached their first final since 2008 and got past the quarterfinal for the first time since 2010; interestingly they lost both times to Egypt.

Egypt themselves haven’t been exactly swashbuckling, indeed the major talking point in the buildup to the tournament was how Hector Cuper set his side up to be defensively compact while sacrificing attacking flair at the altar of rearguard solidity.

Egypt’s failure to make it to the AFCON in recent years meant all but three of the players on the roster had experience in this competition, and with El-Hadary one of the remaining stalwarts, the legendary goalkeeper has rolled back the years to guide his young teammates to the cusp of their country’s eighth continental success.

With two teams set up to play on the counter-attack facing off, it will be incumbent on either side to take the initiative from the off, a strategy which suits neither side.

They are unbeaten in 23 AFCON games, a run that stretches to their 2-1 loss to Algeria in 2004 and with big game experience that saw them defeat Nigeria en route to qualifying, Cuper’s side are favourites for a reason.

Cameroon: Hugo Broos also deploys a 4-3-3, although his side have taken some time to evolve into a settled team.