Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 7:09 PM• Rian Rosendaal

Samuel Eto’o has caused annoyance in the run-up to Thursday’s clash between Cameroon and Egypt in the African Cup semi-final. The current president of the Football Association of Cameroon said ‘this is going to be war’ after his country dealt with Gambia (0-2) in the quarterfinals of the final tournament. Carlos Queiroz, Egypt national coach, does not understand the words Eto’o used at all.

The former attacker of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea, among others, made a speech in the dressing room of Cameroon on Saturday after the victory in the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup. “Prepare well, because this is going to be a war. That is also how you should play as if it were a war,” the federation chairman referred to the approaching meeting with Egypt in the semi-final battle. A statement that clearly hurts Queiroz’s leg.

“It is a very unfortunate statement,” the Portuguese elector of Egypt grumbles in an interview on the website of the African Football Association. “And it is also very bad news to the people of Cameroon. This declaration of war indicates that so he learned nothing when he was still active in professional football. Football has nothing to do with war at all, it is about celebrating, enjoyment and pure joy,” said Queiroz.

The national coach of Egypt refers in his response to the stadium disaster that recently took place at the Africa Cup. Ahead of the game in the Paul Biya Stadium between Cameroon and the Comoros on January 24, eight people were killed in a rush to get into the stadium. In addition, 38 people were injured in the incident just outside the Cameroon shelter. “He forgets that only a few days ago eight people died,” Queiroz finally tells Eto’o. The winner of the game between Cameroon and Egypt will play in the final against Burkina Faso or Senegal. These countries will meet on Wednesday evening in the other semifinal.