Africa: We Like Pressure As Cameroon, Says Coach Saidou Alioum

23 January 2023
Confederation of African Football (Giza)

Cameroon coach Saidou Alioum has disclosed that his side is welcoming the pressure that they face ahead of their last Group E match against Niger at the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship in Algeria.

The Indomitable Lions face the Mena on Tuesdayat the Miloud Hadefi Stadium with a place in the last eight at stake.

Alioum told the media on Monday at a pre-match press conference in Oran that this is great motivation for his team ahead of this big fixture that will determine their fate.

"It is true that Cameroon is a great football nation. We like pressure. We want pressure. The players are ready since the start of the competition. We are in a group that is complicated, but I am very happy that they are motivated. We shall give everything to win this game," Alioum explained in detail.

"We are preparing for the game tomorrow. This is a final for us. We are in a group that no one wants to be in. Niger is a very good team. We tried to work for the whole week. We are ready to start this game. We are impatient for the kick-off."

Cameroon edged archrivals Congo 1-0 in their opening match and sit on top of Group E with three points but must win their game against Niger to stand a chance to progress to the last eight of the continental tournament.

"It is important that everyone understands that this game is very important. It is dangerous to calculate that we already have three points so things look good for us. We must go and give everything and look for the victory. We are not yet qualified."

"We have not played in eight days. This has advantages but also inconveniences, however, we are competitors. Playing for a draw is not good enough. We shall go for the victory. This is our identity. We want to progress in the tournament."

Cameroon midfielder Djawal Kaiba told the media that, "Pressure is good starting from the moment when we registered the three points. It is not a guarantee that we shall qualify.

"Niger have a good team but we have worked on our strategy. Niger has the pressure. We do not have the pressure. Tomorrow, we shall try to give all our best to neutralize this."

"All the teams are equal. We have seen progress on the continent recently. We shall do our best to qualify. We are very determined and want to win this game and we respect Niger.

"Anything can happen in football. We need to do the best we can to score and get the result that we are looking for. The draw would be welcomed but we want to win this game by respecting Niger."

Read the original article on CAF.

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