Lyon and Cameroon forward Karl Toko Ekambi is looking forward to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which will kick off on January 9th in Cameroon's capital Yaounde.
Toko Ekambi hopes Cameroon 'will go far' in the upcoming AFCON
Lyon's Karl Toko Ekambi celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Europa League Group A match between Lyon and Sparta Prague at the Groupama stadium in Lyon
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Toko Ekambi said Cameroon is ready to battle it out with other teams in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which will be hosted by his home country.
The host country will face Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A.
"Cameroon is always under pressure, it is a great country for African football. Hosting the tournament does not add further pressure, I would rather say it is a reason to be proud because we are under pressure anyway. There are always expectations on Cameroon, so we always play under pressure," said Karl Toko Ekambi, Lyon forward.
The Indomitable Lions were disappointed in the last AFCON 2020 when they didn’t perform as expected when they finished only 4th losing two goals vs Guinea.
Toko Ekambi believes African teams have become better compared to years before.
"I think it is a difficult group, we saw during the qualifying matches or Cup matches that there are no easy matches in Africa now. Every country has players playing in big leagues, in Europe, so there are no easy matches in an Africa Cup of Nations, especially in a tournament played at home," said Karl Toko Ekambi.
Five-time champions Cameroon last won the tournament in 2017.
Toko Ekambi scored six goals in Lyon's first four matches in Europe, helping the French side to win Group A and qualify for the knockout stage with two games to spare.
The 29-year-old forward scored four more goals in Ligue 1, where Lyon currently hold the seventh spot with 19 points.