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Kick-off: Sunday, January 31, 16.00 GMT Venue: Estadio 11 de Novembro, Luanda The final of the 2010 African Cup of Nations pits defending Champions and current favourites for this year�s title alongside underdogs Ghana, who have overcome injury and inexperience to make it through to the final. It�s been a fascinating African Cup of Nations tournament full of intrigue and shock with some big names falling by the wayside early on and the emergence of lesser nations into the competition. The appearance of Egypt, going for a record third consecutive continental title and sixth overall, is no shock, and they will be overwhelmingly tipped to claim the victory in the final. However, Ghana have shown that they should never be written off and after a difficult start to the tournament have emerged as strong contenders to end Egypt�s current dominance of Africa. FLYING PHARAOHS Hassan Shehata�s men have so far been the class of the competition, and whilst other big names have fallen around them, they have kept their nerve playing some fine football to reach the final. It is due reward for an excellent collective performance, and once again goes to prove what a strong side Egypt are, something they gave sporadic glimpses of in 2009. Their Confederations Cup win over Italy in South Africa gave a hint of their potential, but a failure to capitalise on their ability in key matches in World Cup qualifying cost them dear. That left many wondering which side of Egypt would turn up in Angola and whether the disappointment of their failure would inspire or overwhelm them. With that question in mind the canny Egypt manager Hassan Shehata, who has overseen this golden period in Egyptian football despite so far not being able to convert that into a World Cup berth, decided to fine tune the team and opted to take some of the fringe squad members. Players such as Hossam Ghaly, formerly of Tottenham, were given a chance to show that they could be counted upon, whilst less experienced individuals, such as Geddo, were handed an opportunity to flourish in the spotlight. Thus far, the policy has paid off handsomely, and the mixture of old-hands installed alongside some of the lesser known Egyptian national players has proved to be a winning combination. A 1-0 goal deficit to Nigeria was rapidly overturned in the first pool match in Group C, and straight forward wins over Mozambique and Benin confirmed their place at the top of the table. That set up a clash with Cameroon in the quarter-finals, and once again Egypt kept their cool after conceding the first goal to run out 3-1 winners. The remarkable 4-0 win over Algeria in a repeat of that fateful World Cup play-off match certainly proved cathartic for the Egyptian nation as a whole and sets them up perfectly for the final. Whilst other sides have struggled in Angola to find their attacking groove, a lack of goals has certainly not been an issue for Egypt. The 14-goals so far are not only by far the most of any side at the 2010 African Cup of Nations, but represent a decent total in any competition of this structure. When taking into consideration the fact they have played their way past three of Africa�s five representatives at next summer�s World Cup, it is all the more remarkable. The ability to come back from suffering the first goal in two of the pivotal matches at the tournament so far indicates that this Egyptian side have the required nerve to perform in high pressure scenarios, something that bodes well for the future, as well as this final. BLACK (YOUNG)-STARS COME OF AGE The 2010 African Cup of Nations was supposed to be a question of looking to the future for Ghana as well. After being forced to name a squad for the tournament that was missing several first team regulars through the spine of the team, Serb coach Milovan Rajevac went for a team built around the FIFA U-20 World Cup winning squad. Ultimately, seven of that successful side were called into the 23-man squad for Angola, and several have been vital in securing Ghana�s passage through to this stage. This tournament was supposed to be a learning curve for this side, but with low initial expectations they have flourished. The usually onerous burden of the weight of carrying a nation�s hope was further eased when they crashed to a 3-1 defeat to pre-tournament favourites the Ivory Coast in the first game. That loss prompted many to write off this young Ghana side as too young and inexperienced to cope at full senior international level, and that whilst they could blossom against their peers, asking them to match and compete with experienced internationals was clearly one step too far. Nevertheless Ghana have fought back with three resilient performances resulting in successive 1-0 wins to initially claim second spot in Group B ahead of Burkina Faso. They put in another gritty display in the 1-0 victory against the hosts Angola in the quarter-finals, before repeating the dose against Nigeria on Thursday in the semis.