When the final of the 27th Africa Cup of Nations gets underway in Accra's Ohene Djan stadium on Sunday, two giants of African football will be facing each other, according to dpa. Between them, Egypt and Cameroon have won nine titles, with the Pharaohs leading the way with five, while the Indomitable Lions share second place with Ghana's Black Stars, who have each been successful at the showpiece of African football four times. Victory for Cameroon would put them level with the North Africans and at the same time probably take three of their players into the record books individually. Captain Rigobert Song, Samuel Eto'o, who has already broken the record for the number of goals scored at all finals and now stands at 16, as well as Newcastle winger Geremi Njitap would all collect their third winners' medal if their team wins on Sunday, having already won in 2000 and 2002. Song's Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Hassan will also be a three-time winner as he was in the team that beat South Africa in 1998 and the Ivory Coast in 2006. Goalkeeper Essam Al Hadari also has two medals, but sat on the bench in 1998. The two sides met in the group phase, where in a game of two halves the North Africans came out on top, winning 4-2, having outplayed their opponents in the first half, scoring three goals. Egyptian assistant coach Shawky Gharib said that he was confident his side would win again. In 2006, the Pharaohs played Ivory Coast in a group game and in the final and won the competition. "'Now, we will win the final. It's the same as in 2006, when we played Ivory Coast in the final and we were also in the same group." Cameroon's German coach Otto Pfister will be without defender Andre Bikey, who was sent off in injury time during their 1-0 semi-final win against Ghana for pushing a medical orderly. "I am not too concerned about that. I have a fantastic squad and I am sure we will have a good team for the final," he said. The 70-year-old, who has spend virtually his entire coaching career in Africa and has been in charge of eight different national teams on the continent, dedicated the semi-final victory to the people of Cameroon. "This victory is as important for the President of the country as it is to the small boy in a small village somewhere between Doula and Yaounde." He said he will go into Sunday's match like any other. "Against Ghana my team-talk consisted of four minutes. I do not believe in giving lectures to the players for an hour or so. That will just confuse them and place unnecessary pressure on them. I do not think that is good." Pfister, who took Ghana to the Nations Cup final in 1992, where they lost to the Ivory Coast, is also not a believer in charts and tables. "I do not write things on charts and then stick them on the walls. That is for the experts. I want my players to play football." His somewhat unorthodox style of preparation was also evident in the training camp the team had before the tournament. "Before I took over late last year the team had booked a training camp in Spain. I said what good is going to Spain and training, we are not playing in the European Championships, we are playing in the African Nations Cup. "So I took the team to Ougadougou in Burkina Faso. It was hot, but it was the same conditions that we are facing here and it has helped. We worked very hard there and we have an excellent team spirit." If Pfister and his team win Sunday's final, it could well be that his unusual way of preparing a team for the most important African competition could find some followers next time around. In the Third Place play-off in Kumasi on Saturday hosts Ghana will attempt to appease their disappointed fans with a victory against the Ivory Coast. Ivorian coach Gerard Gili's biggest problem will be to lift the spirit of his players who went into Thursday's semi-final against Egypt as the favourites, but were completely demoralized after their 4-1 defeat.
