After fears the stadium may only be three-quarters full at Ohene Djan for tonight's Cup of Nations final the host city came out in force.

While kick-off remained notoriously under-attended by half-time a festive, if dispassionate majority of neutrals had made their way into the ground.

Cameroon had barely a small pocket of fans and created little noise for their team, while Egypt's bevy of fans failed to produce the consistent raucous noise other sides at these championships had offered.

At kick-off a lone Reading banner flew briefly in the crowd in memory of Andre Bikey, but soon disappeared from view.

The finale came on the hottest day in Accra since the start of the tournament, with the open sewers in the streets evaporating into the air and emitting an unpleasant odour visitors had largely been spared until now.

Referee Codjia Koffi of Benin must have thought the crowd had come to watch him tonight, his petulant display ranging from hurrying up the Egypt pre-match huddle with an impatient blow of the whistle, to arrogant thrusts and gestures whenever free-kicks or cards were awarded.

There was some irony in Cameroon coach Otto Pfister berating Koffi for not consulting his watch when the clock was wound-down by the Egyptian team - at least this time the crowd was shown how much stoppage remained by the fourth official.

But fortunately Koffi and his assistants failed to steal the show, as Egypt's raw passion and emotion both after Mohamed Aboutreika's winning goal and upon receiving the trophy was a perfect celebration.

Of course, the Confederation of African Football had to play spoiler, an irate woman chastising Egyptian players for their impromptu dancing alongside drummers in the post-match ceremony because it may interfere with official proceedings.

It was a typically regimented and over-officiated way to end the tournament on CAF's behalf, in an event where the outside world, feeding largely off television coverage and the BBC, would have no idea what a shambles it was behind the scenes.

And behind the scenes the Egyptians seemed tired and partied out, even snubbing their arabic-speaking media who had followed them from day one as players, coaches and cup dashed to the team bus.

With the exception of the odd word in French, Cameroon was much the same - with Otto Pfister's grin one of sickness tonight than superiority.

Still, the tournament ended on a high note - the best team won and deserved to win - and regardless of what had gone before, nobody can begrude Egypt its moment of victory in Ghana.

True glory goes to its loyal legions of travelling fans - one big group and the odd small huddle singing, celebrating and cheering for their team.

Egypt is champion of Africa again after defending its title with a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the final at Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra tonight.

A goal deep into the second half from Mohamed Aboutreika was the difference as Egypt dominated its West-African opponent from start to finish to win the African Cup of Nations.

But it took a horrifying error from Cameroon captain and semi-final hero Rigobert Song to open the door for the Pharaohs which Indomitable Lions goalkeeper Carlos Idriss Kameni had previously kept shut with a string of fantastic saves.

In the 77th minute Song’s inability to control a long ball into the Cameroon half saw substitute Mohamed Zidan steal in to get a foot on the ball.

After winning a wrestle with Song inside the penalty area the Egyptian squared for Aboutreika who was left with a one-on-one finish against Kameni and duly slotted home.

The Egyptian bench exploded onto the team as the regular goal-scoring celebration of kneeling to prayer, then hands to the heavens ensued.

Cameroon were sparked by going behind but only managed to force one significant attempt on the target to trouble a flawless game from Esam El Hadary in the Egypt goal.

El Hadary saved from Stephane Mbia with a one-handed stop then watched Song head over the bar in the fourth minute of stoppage time as Cameroon threw everything forward.

Victory gives Egypt coach Hassan Shehata the status as one of only two coaches to have ever defended the Cup of Nations title successfully.

Egypt’s sixth trophy was well deserved as it peppered Kameni in the first half before controlling the balance of play in the second.

Confederation of African Football player of the tournament Hosny Abd Rabou hit the post with a diving header in the second half and followed it up with a rasping long-shot tipped around the post by Kameni soon after.

Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o was awarded the golden boot after the match despite being frozen out completely after a brilliant defensive effort from Egypt’s backline, Hany Said leading the way with a number of interceptions and crunching tackles.

Cameroon coach Otto Pfister was hamstrung by Alex Song's inability to run off an injury sustained in training and found himself out of substitutes early in the second half.  

Teo Pellizzeri, Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra

*Keep track of OleOle.com for more reaction to the Cup of Nations finale as well as unique pictures from the ground 

Egypt will defend its African Cup of Nations title in the championship game after routing Ivory Coast 4-1 in Kumasi tonight.

Two goals from in-form striker Amr Zaki sealed victory for Egypt after with Abdulkader Keita's goal in between offering a glimmer of hope to the Elephants. 

Zaki's first goal appeared to close the door on Ivory Coast in the 62nd minute before Keita struck back almost immediately.

But within five minutes Zaki produced a sweet strike of his own to restore Egypt's two-goal cushion.

Mohamed Aboutreika iced the win with a goal in stoppage time, while it was Ahmed Fathi who opened the scoring for Egypt and gave it a 1-0 half time lead.

Ivory Coast endured a miserable night with goalkeeper Boubacar Barry leaving the game injured and Kolo Toure, rushed back from injury, well off his game.

After disrupting what had been a flawless centre-back paring of Didier Zokora and Marc Zoro, it was the latter who made way for Toure.

Ivory Coast now go to the game most of the experts predicted would be the final, but is instead a third-place playoff with Ghana in Kumasi on Saturday.

Egypt now defends its crown against Cameroon in Accra on Sunday.  

Egypt will play Ivory Coast for a place in the African Cup of Nations final after a 2-1 win over Angola in Kumasi this evening.

The Pharaohs were not rattled by a thunderbolt strike from Angolan forward Manucho as it took the lead twice in the first half.

Goals from Hosny Abd Rabou and Amr Zaki either side of Manucho’s wonder-goal were enough for victory.

Egypt opened the scoring in the 23^rd minute when Angola captain Andre Macanga leapt out of the wall defending a free kick and had the ball rocket off his arm.

A penalty was awarded for the indiscretion with Abd Rabou making no mistake from the spot for the third time in this tournament.

But Panathinaikos-bound Manucho powered the Palancas Negras back onto level terms three minutes later as he hit a 30-yard shot on the gallop.

The ball swerved in the air to beat Essam El Hadari in flight and find the back of the net.

But Egypt regained the ascendancy in the 38^th minute when Amr Zaki chested in a cross from the right flank after it beat the entire Angola backline.

More through fortune than purpose, Zaki’s contact with the ball looped into the net as he arrived at the back post.

Manucho couldn’t put a touch on the ball to find an equaliser from kick-off in the second half as a closing Egypt defence put on just enough pressure.

The ball skewed wide, Egypt holding out Angola with 2-1 good enough to progress to a semi-final against Ivory Coast.

Angola still leaves the Cup of Nations with its heads high, it won a match in tournament play for the first time as well as progress to the quarter-final.

The Palancas Negras next major assignment will be qualifying for the World Cup, while it is already guaranteed a spot as host of the next Cup of Nations in 2010.

Cameroon buried Sudan 3-0 in Tamale tonight to seal progression to the quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations.

Samuel Eto’o scored two goals in the rout to stand alone as the highest scorer in the competition’s history.

Sudan rarely made a forward foray and looked every part the team that leaves Ghana as the only one without having scored.

After just two minutes the pattern of the game was determined as Joesph Desire Job and Eto’o peppered Sudan goalkeeper Elmuiz Abdalla who made two miracle saves to keep the Indomitable Lions at bay.

But in the 26th minute Achille Emana drew a penalty from Alla Eldin Yousif Hado and Eto’o duly converted.

The penalty, Eto’o’s third of the tournament in as many games, gave the 26-year-old the record of leading scorer in Cup of Nations football overtaking Laurent Pokou of Ivory Coast.

The scoring was not finished with a comical own-goal before half-time giving Cameroon an unassailable lead.

Hamouda El Bashir, marking Eto’o, cleared a ball straight into Mohamed Ali Elkhidir and the rebound bounced into the net.

In the second half Sudan’s best chance of scoring came when an ambitious shot on the turn from Faisal Agab Sido required a save from Cameroon keeper Carlos Idriss Kameni.

But it was as close as the Sudanese came, Eto’o scoring his second of the match and fifth for the tournament in stoppage time as he finished clinically on a quick counter-attack.

In the other Group C game Christopher Katongo grabbed a late equaliser for Zambia in its 1-1 draw with Egypt.

Amr Zaki opened the scoring on 15 minutes but Katongo’s 88th minute goal gave Zambia a share of the points.

However it needed to win and pick up goal difference to boot to stand any chance of progressing.

The Pharaohs took it easy with none of its players booked in the match. Egypt tops the group with seven points, Cameroon second with six.

Barring lop-sided wins in both of tomorrow’s Group D matches, the pair will play one of Angola or Tunisia in the quarter-final.

Senegal coach Henri Kasperczak resigned and decided against taking up the impossible challenge his team faces in its final group game against South Africa.

According to the BBC Kasperczak's immediate resignation has thrown assistant coach Lamine Ndiaye into the hot-seat for the Teranga Lions' final game.

Kasperczak told the BBC he accepted responsibility for Senegal's poor showing but some players still believed his resignation was unexpected. 

But Senegal's flimsy defence could not hold its 1-0 lead against Angola yesterday with the 3-1 loss leaving it needing to win big against South Africa while receiving a favourable result in the Tunisia-Angola game.

In contrast, Ivorian defender Kolo Toure is in a battle to remain a part of the tournament after being assessed as having a grade-one groin strain.

While Toure's brief assessment of the injury after leaving the Ivory Coast-Benin match was that he would return after missing one match, it appears he will now be out for the quarter finals as well.

Arsenal's medical staff have been heavily involved in the process of rehabilitating Toure, insisting he fly from Ghana to Paris for their own assessment of his injury.

In disciplinary matters Egypt's Mohamed Aboutrika has been warned for displaying a political message on his undershirt during a goal celebration against Sudan on Saturday.

Aboutrika's shirt read "sympathize with gaza" in both English and Arabic.

Aside from the yellow card issued to Aboutrika during the game for the indisgression, no further action other than a warning has been taken by the Confederation of African Football.  

Egypt overpowered Sudan with two late goals to substitute Mohamed Aboutreika closing out a 3-0 win.

The Pharaos are a perfect two from two and with a goal-difference of positive five sees them in a near-unbeatable position going into its final group game. The result all-but eliminates Sudan who would need to win by an unprecedented five goals against Cameroon while also needing a favour from Egypt against Zambia.

After Hosni Abd-Rabou had won and converted a penalty for Egypt on 27 minutes the game appeared to be lulling toward a 1-0 win in the second half. Sudan’s early efforts had produced 5 straight shots without an effort on target but the second half saw them unable to create any significant attacking chances.

But Aboutreika’s entry to the field signalled a new wave of Egypt attack and late in the match the substitute doubled the lead with a neat finish after nearly overplaying the ball.

He then fooled both the Sudan goalkeeper and backline by shooting to the near post when it looked like he would cross.

Hosni has converted two penalties from two among his three goals but was made to re-take his spot-kick tonight after encroachment on the first kick which went low to the left.

However his second penalty was even more clinical low to the right. 

Sudan and Nigeria remain the only teams yet to score at the Cup of Nations.

A claim from Benin coach Reinhard Fabisch has headlined the off-field drama at the African Cup of Nations. 

Drama between Sudan and a TV network and heavy criticism for Ghana's Asamoah Gyan have also been major talking points.

Gyan and Ghana coach Claude Le Roy faced the media yesterday to defend the team’s winning, but unconvincing start to the tournament.Gyan was widely booed when substituted against Namibia after a problematic night in which he failed to shoot accurately or make the right decisions when on the ball.

The striker who opened the scoring at the tournament with a penalty against Guinea admitted a lack of condition, but declared he would up his work rate to stay effective in the first team.  

Sudan’s players were involved in an altercation with an Egyptian television crew yesterday at the team’s hotel in Kumasi. The BBC is reporting a gun was drawn by a police officer when the law was called in to control the situation.

The confrontation is believed to have been caused by Sudan’s players refusing to grant interviews.

The Egyptian station TV1 has accused Sudan players and officials of being short-tempered and resorting to violence, while the Sudanese camp has claimed harsh treatment at the hands of the network.

Matters will be settled on the pitch this evening with Egypt hot favourite to win and depending on the result of Zambia and Cameroon, eliminate Sudan.

Benin coach Fabisch told the BBC he was approached by a man claiming to represent a Singapore company and was asked to help fix the result of his team’s opening game against Mali.

Fabisch was set a deadline of midday today to sign an affidavit confirming the accusations but neither he or CAF has made a statement on the matter.

Briefly in other news Guinea captain Pascal Feindouno has been issued a two match suspension for his sending off against Morocco.  

Defending champion Egypt delivered a fierce warning to its challengers for the African Cup of Nations with a commanding 4-2 win over Cameroon in Kumasi tonight.

The Pharaohs worked some football magic to win the game with three of its goals of the highest quality.

It sent an ominous message to the rest of the competition who thought Egypt was no longer the team that won the title two years ago.

The strikes, two from Zidan and two from Hosni, erased any concern over a lack of fire-power in the Eygpt forward line.

To describe Cameroon as rattled by Egypt’s 3-0 half-time advantage would be unfair. While Alex Song was a mixture of firm and flaky, fellow half-time substitute Achille Emana provided some hope.

Although it does seem quite clear Cameroon won’t go all the way with Samuel Eto’o lurking in the playmaker role rather than displaying his predatory instincts.

Despite heading a fantastic strikers’ goal to give Cameroon some hope at the start of the second half, Eto’o disappeared as the game petered out, leaving Geremi’s impressive crosses from the right flank little to aim at.

While Hosni’s strike for the fourth goal was a cracker, Cameroon’s defenders stood off the midfielder and gave him all the time in the world to pick his spot.

The commentators mocked the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon as “kittens” with the score at 4-1 while Eto’o’s late penalty added some cosmetic repair to the final tally.

It will take a significant swing in from to see Egypt fall out at the group stage from here. And while Cameroon may not have that much to rectify in games it will start favourite against Sudan and Zambia, its future beyond the first knock-out game is highly questionable.

Teo Pellizzeri, Accra