/ 10 February 2000

TUNISA WITHIN SIGHT OF FINAL

ESCAPE artists Tunisia are just one match away from reaching a second African Nations Cup final in five years.

The North Africans tackle physically-imposing Cameroon at the 40000-seat Accra Sports Stadium on Thursday and the winners qualify for a showdown with Nigeria or South Africa. Most observers dismissed Tunisia as serious challengers, but says coach Francesco Scoglio: “Tunisia must be taken seriously now because we are no longer the minnows of the championship”. “I realise Cameroon are an extremely physical team that has created a remarkable number of scoring opportunities, but we have a young, purposeful team that can handle them.” Scoglio has gone against the trend of packing squads with European-based footballers of varying ability, preferring to build his team around 1999 African Champions League runners-up Esperance.