News
THU 02.02.2017
The Africa Cup of Nations has almost reached its climax. Egypt just about managed to clear the penultimate hurdle by beating Burkina Faso on penalties yesterday, securing their place in the final on Sunday 5 February at the Stade de l'Amitie in Libreville, Gabon.
Fabrice Ondoa and Razak Brimah certainly will not want to miss out on the chance to feature in the showpiece fixture.
The Sevilla Atletico and Cordoba CF shotstoppers will take their place in goal for Cameroon and Ghana respectively, hoping to be able to play a key role in their country clinching a final berth.
"Razak likes to be commanding in his area and drive his team forward, I like his spirit. When the team need him, he's there to boost the mood from the back," was Ondoa's take on his Ghanaian counterpart. Brimah, meanwhile, believes "Cameroon wouldn't be in the semi-finals if it weren't for Ondoa's brilliant performances. He's strong, brave and really wants to do well."
The route to the semi-final stage has been anything but straightforward for both countries, in particular for Cameroon, who had to get through a tense penalty shootout in the quarter-finals against Senegal. That was Ondoa's moment to shine and he was deservedly crowned Man of the Match.
"We'd studied our opponents and we knew their normal style was to aim for a corner, although sometimes they end up going down the middle. I had to wait until the last possible moment and trust my instinct," explained Ondoa, who was able to keep out Sadio Mane's penalty and set Cameroon on their way to reaching the final four.
Brimah did not have to make any saves from the penalty spot as Ghana overcame DR Congo, but he did pull off a handful of admirable stops in the 2-1 victory. Having reached the latter stages, the Ghanaian goalkeeper has a clear goal in mind: "We want to win the trophy. We'll go out there to try to play well in order to reach the final."
© LALIGA - 2017