Defending Champions Cameroon will kick start their title defence with an opener against Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday at the Ismailia Stadium.

The Indomitable Lions would be hoping to make a resounding statement to the rest of the teams by grabbing a very convincing win.

The last time Cameroon won back to back Africa Cup of Nations was way back in 2002. Recreating a similar success, however, will be a very tough affair for them considering their arrival at the tournament in Egypt at the end of last week was delayed by 24 hours. This was due to a disagreement over appearance fees bonuses for the players.

Baciro Cande’s side are without a win any of their last three matches, with their most recently concluded international friendly ending in a disappointing 2-0 loss at the hands of Angola. His squad have failed to impress on the road and will be on an early flight back home if they fail to keep their act together in the group stages. 

What is the kickoff time for the match?

The match starts at 17:00GMT.

Recent form in all competitions:

Cameroon:

Clarence Seedorf’s men are unbeaten since losing to Brazil in November 2018. They have scored six goals in their last three games registering two wins and a draw.

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau are winless in their last three games prior to this tournament (1D, 2L). In those three games, the Djurtus failed to score in two of them.

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Cameroon

Clarence Seedorf has been in charge since August 2018 having previously had some underwhelming results in his time as a club manager. Only ten of the players who were in the 2017 AFCON winning squad are present in the squad and they are without injured attacker Vincent Aboubakar whilst defenders Nicholas N'koulou and Joel Matip continue to be absent from the national team through their own choice.

Cameroon will be one squad man short for their Africa Cup of Nations opener. Joël Tagueu was ruled out of the tournament with a heart defect on Monday. And while that’s a blow for his personal ambitions, it shouldn’t impact the team’s cup aspirations.

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau return to the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the second time in a row having made their debut in 2017 when they finished bottom of a group with the host nation Gabon.

They earned qualification by winning a favourable qualifying group containing Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia. Frédéric Mendy is the top scorer in their squad with four international goals, with three of those coming during the qualification campaign. 

What is the head to head record?

Both the teams have met each other on three occasions.

Guinea-Bissau are yet to register a single win against their counterparts.

Their last encounter ended 2-1 in favour of Cameroon.

Guinea Bissau have managed to score just one goal while conceding four in their previous meetings.

Potential Starting XI:

CAMEROON: Andre Onana, Collins Fai, Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Yaya Banana, Gaetan Bong, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Pierre Kunde Malong, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Karl Toko Ekambi, Clinton Njie, Stephane Bahoken

 GUINEA-BISSAU: Mendes, Nadjack, Soares, Silva, Balde, Zezinho, Pele, Mane, Piqueti, Mendy, Silva

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