By By Ogie Osagie, Benin City on February 5, 2022

The curtain for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations football summit holding in Cameroon is gradually drawing closer as the third place game otherwise referred to as losers final will be on stage today between host Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions and Burkina Faso’s Stallions.
The match no matter that what is at stake is just third placement will not be a push over. If nothing, prestige is on the line.
If only to play for pride, today’s match will not go unnoticed tension being high as coming via the spirit of the round leather game that has turned the whole World into stand still through excitement, thrills, frills, drills and the nitty- gritty  spell bond.
These are what awaits fans later today in far away Cameroon where the host country with their teeming fan will throng the entire arena singing and drumming their idols to victory, if nothing to grab third placing in Africa’s most prestigious football festival as consolation prize. At all, at all is bad.
There won’t be any dull moment in today’s third place encounter bearing in mind the above enumerated factors. No matter how the tide will be so high as both teams would see this game as if it is a final match where the golden crown would be bestowed on the victors at the end of the ground battle.
What will make the match high tension kind of will be that both countries in the centre stage would not like to go home empty handed, therefore that being at the back of their minds will heighten proceedings to the delight of fans.
The stressful and the outcome of Cameroon-Egypt second semi-final on Thursday caught some bookmakers’ pants down and so pundits are near wary to stick out their necks on the match at hand.
It was the kind of game expected and the countries lived up the billing. It was exciting game. The game proved analysts of Daily Sports right as their analysis was apt. Both Cameroon and Egypt brought back the good old days memories of this championship when the men were always separated from the boys.
It even exchange with occasional outbursts from both sides that rattled both the defencelines, the goalkeepers and the benches  which produced no winner up till the penalty shoot out time where the fittest and prepared carried the day.
It clearly  showed that host country, Cameroon assumed it will wrapped up the game in regulation time and probably failed to do enough in penalty shoot out section during  build up for the epic game against Egypt that has magic man deceiver Mohammed Salah in their line up.
The handsome boys that did it for Cameroon where so casual to the assignment like they were strolling into dance hall for entertainment show down. It dawned on them now that next has to be different that you don’t mix up good and great looks when the game of football goes into crunchy time. A lesson in character for all.
However today’s what l will call redemption mission between the two countries will be close call despite that on paper if one goes on the part of the history of the competition, Cameroon has greater edge over their day’s opponent, Burkina Faso and so fans expect one sided match and possible over run of the West African country by their more powerful football wise Central African counterpart.
But the growth of the game in the continent over these years has drastically closed the gap between football endured countries and what was then refereed to as minnows. One may not be too surprised if such scenario resurfaces in this encounter as the Stallions we have seen in this tournament since the kick-off of this game.
Head or tail, Cameroon from records is tipped to win this game and place third in the competition it hosted after long time. Come to think of it, Burkina Faso has done great in tournament despite the setback home. The beautiful game that unites even enemies has taken the attention of the entire African continent and the globe showing the growth, organization which is still evolving, players that now play in the championship showcasing the wider acceptance the age old Africa’s premier football summit has gained over these years. Kudos to the resilient of the founding fathers, players and managers of this biannual football festival!!     

Source Daily Sports

Posted February 5, 2022

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