Cameroon’s fortunes a long way off their 1990 heroics
Cameroon's image as World Cup gatecrashers, capable of taking down top contenders and wreaking havoc, has faded away after two decades of failure at the finals.
There will be limited expectations of the Indomitable Lions in Qatar, where they are in a tough group with Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland, after their failure to make any impact since their fabled exploits at Italia '90.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. That remains their high point as a charismatic side caught the world's imagination with equal measures of trickery and aggression became the first Africans to reach the last eight.
Resplendent in their colourful green, red and yellow kit, they were ground breakers for the African game and still seen as a reference point for the continent.
Cameroon shirts might still be popular worldwide but it has been a long time since they have been worn with success at the World Cup.
They have been to five World Cup tournaments since 1990 but won only one of 15 games – an inconsequential victory over Saudi Arabia at the finals in Asia 20 years ago.
Their primary ambition in Qatar will be to try and get another win under their belts but it is going to be difficult for a side who sneaked into the tournament courtesy of a goal deep in stoppage time at the end of extra time in the second leg of their playoff tie away to Algeria in March.
It was only the second game in charge for Rigobert Song, their long-standing defender and captain who took over just weeks before the playoff.
The sacking of Portuguese coach Toni Conceicao, despite a third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations finals at the start of the year, was one of the first acts of newly-elected football federation president Samuel Eto'o.
Cameroon's most successful player has not wasted any time putting his stamp on the team and will be as much a decision maker in team matters in Qatar as coach Song.
Eto'o has persuaded Brentford striker Bryan Mbuemo to join the team, along with a handful of other French-born footballers with Cameroonian roots, but whether it provides a significant boost to their fortunes remains to be seen.
Cameroon are Africa's most frequent visitors to the World Cup, with seven previous tournament appearances, but this looks likely to be another exercise in frustration.
Onana heading to World Cup one year after drugs ban
When Andre Onana plays in goal for Cameroon at the World Cup it will be exactly one year since his return from a drugs ban that he is still struggling to bounce back from.
The 26-year-old spent nine months on the sidelines after banned diuretic furosemide was found in his urine.
He took his wife's prescription medicine, after looking for an aspirin to quell a headache, and his explanation was accepted on appeal when the ban was cut from a year to nine months.
"A stupid mistake," he has said, although adding: "There is little humanity in football. We are obviously not allowed to make mistakes and are treated like robots. A hard lesson."
The incident brought an abrupt halt in January 2021 to a career that was blooming at Ajax Amsterdam where he was fast establishing himself as one of the best keepers in Europe.
Onana has not played nearly enough football since.
Ajax used him sparingly on his return in November last year when it was clear he was not going to re-sign for the club, looking to run out his contract to move elsewhere.
He joined Inter Milan in the close season but played second fiddle to Samir Handanovic in Serie A while being fielded in the starting lineup in the Champions League.
It was with Ajax in Europe's elite club competition that Onana had come to prominence, an integral part of the team that went from the early preliminary knockout rounds to the 2019 semi-finals, before a dramatic elimination by Tottenham Hotspur.
"A natural talent, an unbelievably brilliant athlete," is how former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag described him.
Onana started out in Samuel Eto'o's academy before moving to Barcelona's La Masia aged 14. The Spaniards sold him to Ajax in 2015 when he was only 18 and a season later he was in the first team, going on to play more than 200 times for the Dutch giants.
His international career was slow getting off the ground with Onana turning down a call-up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals, seeking to put club before country, and missing out as the Indomitable Lions proved surprise winners.
That, however, was quickly forgiven and he has played at two Cup of Nations finals since and, once he was back from the drug ban, made some telling saves to help conclude Cameroon's successful World Cup qualification.
Ngadeu-Ngadjui left out as Cameroon name squad for World Cup
Cameroon left out long-serving centre back Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui from their squad for the World Cup in a shock omission as coach Rigobert Song named his 26-man selection for Qatar on Wednesday.
The coach also surprisingly included two home-based players -- Souaibou Marou and Jerome Ngom -- who had won their first caps just hours before in a friendly against Jamaica.
The team will be captained by Vincent Aboubakar, who competed as a teenager at the 2010 World Cup and again in Brazil in 2014 when the Indomitable Lions last appeared at the finals.
It will also be a third World Cup for defender Nicolas Nkoulou, 32, and Bayern Munich attacker Eric-Maxime Choupo Moting, who is 33-years-old.
Nkoulou made a comeback to the team in September after a five-year absence, having retired from the side after they won the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ngadeu was also a member of that team but had remained a regular for Cameroon since. He was omitted for the last round of friendly matches two months ago and left out again for the trip to Qatar.
Song gave no explanation for the axing of the 31-year-old Belgian-based centre back at a hastily arranged news conference on Wednesday, where reporters were given short notice of the intention to name the squad.
Song also included teenage goalkeeper Simon Ngapandouetnbu, who is on the books of Olympique de Marseille but yet to play a senior match. He is the only uncapped player in the squad.
Cameroon will play in an eighth World Cup -- a record number of appearances for an African nation -- and take on Switzerland, Serbia and Brazil in Group G, with their first game on Nov. 24.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Devis Epassy (Abha Club), Simon Ngapandouetnbu (Olympique de Marseille), Andre Onana (Inter Milan)
Defenders: Jean-Charles Castelletto (Nantes), Enzo Ebosse (Udinese), Collins Fai (Al Tai), Olivier Mbaizo (Philadelphia Union), Nicolas Nkoulou (Aris Salonika), Tolo Nouhou (Seattle Sounders), Christopher Wooh (Stade Rennes)
Midfielders: Martin Hongla (Verona), Pierre Kunde (Olympiakos), Olivier Ntcham (Swansea City), Gael Ondoua (Hannover 96), Samuel Oum Gouet (Mechelen), Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Napoli)
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Al Nassr), Christian Bassogog (Shanghai Shenhua), Eric-Maxime Choupo Moting (Bayern Munich), Souaibou Marou (Coton Sport), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford), Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu (Young Boys Berne), Jerome Ngom (Colombe Dja), Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (Besiktas), Jean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys Berne), Karl Toko Ekambi (Olympique Lyonnais)
FOLLOWING IS A STATBOX ON CAMEROON AT THE WORLD CUP:
FIFA Ranking: 43
Odds: 250-1
Previous tournaments:
Cameroon have competed at more World Cups than any African country, starting in Spain in 1982 when they achieved the rare feat of being unbeaten in their three group games but failed to reach the next stage. On their second appearance in 1990, they became the first African country to make the quarter-finals on a heady run led by 38-year-old striker Roger Milla. They beat holders Argentina in the opening game of the tournament in Milan and then Romania before ousting Colombia in the last 16 but were eliminated by England after extra time. However, in five subsequent World Cup appearances they have won only once – against Saudi Arabia in Japan 20 years ago.
How they qualified:
The Indomitable Lions had among the toughest qualifying paths and, although they stumbled and stuttered, grabbed a dramatic winner minutes from the end of the campaign to book a place in Qatar. Cameroon had been drawn with Ivory Coast in the group phase of qualifying with only the group winners advancing to the playoffs and edged their rivals by a point. In the playoffs they looked dead and buried after losing at home to Algeria but in the return leg in north Africa won 2-1, with Karl Toko Ekambi scoring the winner four minutes into stoppage time at the end of extra time to go through on away goals.
Form guide:
Cameroon lost two friendlies on a long trip to South Korea in September and have drawn much criticism for their performances from pundits at home. Defeat by Uzbekistan and South Korea did not sit well with the fans. Cameroon will go to the World Cup decidedly ill-prepared in comparison to some of the teams they will face in Group G, having played only three internationals since qualying in March. In June, they narrowly edged tiny Burundi in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier but their other match against Kenya was cancelled when their opponents were kicked out of the tournament.
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