Ahmed Morsy sounds out what was said about Egypt's ACN victory Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations win proved most of the pundits, who had tipped Ghana, the Ivory Coast or Cameroon to win the title, wrong. It was Egypt which played the silkiest football in Africa, according to the BBC's description of the national team. FIFA's website was written "The Pharaohs are kings again'. To this end, FIFA emphasised that it was as much as the defending champions deserved, putting on a consistent performance throughout the tournament and once again stamping their supremacy on the continent's football. CNN depicted the moment when Mohamed Zidan stripped Rigobert Song of possession which led to the lone final goal as an 'oh!' moment. And that what came next was not surprising as Zidan passed the ball across the top of the box to a late-arriving Mohamed Abu- Treika, who confidently slotted the ball into the lower corner. 1-0 and it was game over; inevitable. However, CNN added that Egypt, the consensus giant of Africa, has qualified for the World Cup only twice (1934 and 1990). No one's really sure why this is but most observers expect 2010 to be a different story. The Associated Press described the 2008 ACN as good advertisement for attacking soccer since it broke the 1998 scoring record and was one short of the 100-goal mark. Without FC Barcelona teammates Ronaldinho or Xavi Hernandez setting him up, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o failed to get a single shot on target after the first round. Nevertheless, he led the tournament with five goals, but he was often seen berating teammates. Eurosport praised Egypt's captain Ahmed Hassan for having won an ACN title for a record third time. The MTN website, the official sponsor of the championship, said team spirit was the key to Egypt's success. Likewise, Patrick Mboma, Cameroon's all-time top goalscorer who led the team to Nations Cup victories in 2000 and 2002, said Egypt's team spirit shone through. "It's tremendous that we reached the final with small preparations and the late appointment of a coach, but Egypt is the best football team in Africa today," said Mboma. "They have a team based on local players, so they know each other very well." Cameroon defender Bill Tchato was full of praise for Egypt. "We showed a lot of heart but congratulations to Egypt. We came up against a team that deserved to win," he said. "It is no surprise that they were champions of Africa two years ago." The International Herald Tribune said that although Abu-Treika will get the glory for the winning goal, the real credit should go to Mohamed Zidan for setting him up. The hero in Egypt's 4-2 victory over Cameroon in group play, Zidan came on midway in the second half in the final and added a dangerous element to the Egyptian attack: speed. Reuters wrote that the Indomitable Lions were dominated throughout and Eto'o, who broke the Nations Cup scoring record with 16 goals, was alone up front and failed to find the net for the third successive game. ESPN claimed that the strength of club football in Egypt was the key to their triumph in a one-sided final against Cameroon. The American cable television network said Egypt played a free-flowing passing game throughout the tournament, beating Cameroon 4-2 in their opening group game before thrashing hot favourites Ivory Coast 4-1 in the semi-finals. And on Sunday, they dominated most of the game but were kept out by Cameroon's impressive keeper Idriss Carlos Kameni until Abu-Treika pounced after an error by Song. ESPN called the victory a response to critics who had put Egypt's 2006 title down to the team having home advantage as hosts. A BBC player rating gave Ahmed Hassan the highest ranking, nine out of 10, and was described as the engine of the Egyptian midfield and key in setting the pace of the Pharaohs' game. He was always involved and available, added the BBC.
