Senegal should expect Cameroon ‘weapons’ to be firing – Georges-Kevin Nkoudou

Cameroon striker Georges-Kevin Nkoudou believes his side have the “weapons” to get the better of defending champions Senegal in their Africa Cup of Nations clash.

Senegal got their title defence off to an ideal start with a 3-0 win over Gambia, while Cameroon had to come from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against 10-man Guinea in Group C.

However, Nkoudou remains in a confident mood ahead of Friday’s eagerly anticipated clash between the Indomitable Lions and the Teranga Lions at the Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro.

About the first gameAbout Lamine CAMARA pic.twitter.com/OyWxNjsZUh

— Football Senegal (@FootballSenegal) January 17, 2024

“It’s true that Senegal is the favourite, but as I always say we must never bury Cameroon, we remain a great team and a great nation,” Nkoudou said.

“They started this tournament with a very good victory against Gambia. For our part, we had a good match but unfortunately we only got one point.

“We have to put this behind us for now and focus on our match against Senegal which will be very difficult for both teams. I think we have all the weapons necessary to be able to put them in a more difficult position.”

Senegal can advance to the last 16 with a game to spare if they can make it two wins out of two, but head coach Aliou Cisse expects a reaction from Cameroon following their disappointing draw with Guinea.

“It was important to enter the competition with a victory, which encourages the players,” Cisse said.

“We are ready for the second match against a strong team, and we have prepared well for it. We know Cameroon well and it is a strong African team.

“Cameroon remains Cameroon. Our match against them is not revenge. Cameroon have already won many continental titles and we are going to face a team motivated to make up for the result they got in the first match.

“We have a competitive group and all players can participate, it doesn’t matter who starts the match, the most important thing is the performance provided.

“Our team does not suffer from a lack of efficiency and we scored three goals in the first match.”