ACTUALITE |
06.02.2002
Cameroon wants to spoil Mali`s Nations Cup dream
BAMAKO
Defending champions Cameroon will attempt to wreck the hopes of a nation when it play host Mali in the semifinals of the African Nations Cup here Thursday.
The `Indomitable Lions,` aiming to become the first team in 37 years to successfully retain the African crown, will venture into the den of Bamako`s March 26 Stadium seeking to emerge with a place in the final.
Spearheading the Cameroon challenge is reigning African Footballer of the Year Patrick Mboma, who is under no illusions about the size of the task facing his team.
"We are the champions and we are the big team that everybody expects to win - but Mali have played very well so far in this competition and they deserve to be where they are," Mboma said.
"In knockout matches anything can happen. It would be very dangerous for us to think we`ll win against Mali just because of our record. They are the hosts and host teams often do well in tournaments.
"It`s going to be a great atmosphere inside the stadium. But we often are at our best in difficult situations and hopefully we will be at our best on Thursday," he added.
Mboma, who has been compared with the legendary Roger Milla after arriving on the international scene late in his career, has been Cameroon`s key player with three goals so far in the tournament.
His latest came in Monday`s quarterfinal against Egypt, the Parma player glancing in a second-half winner to secure the `Indomitable Lions` passage to the final.
"At the moment I`m not thinking about it," said Mboma when asked about the possibility of finishing as topscorer. "It would be nice at the end of the tournament - but it`s winning the title that counts."
Cameroon played all its group matches and its quarterfinal in Sikasso, a sleepy town 500km outside the Malian capital.
When the Indomitable Lions arrived in Bamako on Tuesday, they became embroiled in a fiasco over accommodation, electing to skip their designated four-star hotel on the grounds that it was too busy.
"We need somewhere quieter," said Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer, the German who has enjoyed a successful start to his reign after taking over late last year.
While Cameroon`s players have been cautious in the build-up to the semifinal, some of Mali`s squad have started to wonder whether the hosts name might be on the title.
Having sneaked a 1-1 draw with Liberia in their opening game, Mali have gone from strength to strength, growing in confidence with every match.
Mali has never won the African Nations Cup, its best efforts being a runners-up spot in 1972 and a fourth-place in 1994.
But Sunday`s quarterfinal win over South Africa - which was more emphatic than the 2-0 final scoreline suggested - has started feverish talk of outright victory in the tournament.
Even some of the `Eagles` players have been tempted into looking ahead to Sunday`s final, with goalkeeper Mamadou Sidibe summing up the self-belief coursing through the hosts` veins.
"The players think they can win," Sidibe said. "The players as a group think this is an opportunity for us to win the tournament."
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