AFCON 3rd Place: When the desirable is not available

In the course of their banters a football fan described today’s third place match between hosts Cameroon and Burkina Faso as losers final and rightly so.

But sentimentally another opined that calling it losers final gives the impression that both teams are losers and should not be dubbed so after emerging the last four in a journey started by 24 teams.

To be part of the last four standing is certainly not cheap hitherto top favorites who crashed out in the ‘morning’ would have given anything to be part of the last four, so even the semifinal losers deserve accolades.

Like it is said when the desirable is not available the available becomes desirable, thus today’s third place is like final for the two teams involved and none is ready to layback. After surviving gruesome semi-final defeat Cameroon will be fighting to the finish to have something to show for efforts after missing hosting to win desire.

The Stallions, on the other hand, fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Senegal in Wednesday’s last-four clash and will head into this game desperate to get one over Cameroon having failed to taste victory in any of the last five meetings between the sides.

The pressure no doubt will be on Cameroon who will be wanting as hosts to end up as top three, but they must resist the temptation to take Stallions for granted.

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Again Cameroon Captain Vincent Aboubakar who is chasing the Golden Boot with six goals in the kitty will need to maintain the tempo in his pursuit though it is not likely that he will be overtaken by the players playing the final as none of them is close to having five goals.

If there is anyone who would perhaps overtake him, it would be compatriot Karl Toko Ekambi currently on five goals.

You may choose to call it third place or losers’ final but there is still so much at stake because Bronze sometimes tastes like Gold when the desirable is not available.