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Cameroon Team Profile – 2010 FIFA World Cup

Angela Asante, June 18 2010,
Let’s go to “Africa in miniature” with LiveSoccerTV.com! We are actually talking about Cameroon, one of Africa’s most powerful football nations.

Cameroon landscape - river
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Cameroon – the country, the football

Cameroon is geologically and culturally diverse. It is located in central western Africa near Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo to the south. Nigeria, Chad, and the Central African Republic border the country to the west, the northeast, and the east respectively.

Cameroon has different landscapes as it possesses rainforests, savannas, mountains, beaches, and deserts as well. In fact, there is no doubt that Cameroon is worth to be called “Africa in miniature” as the country also presents a large variety of over 200 linguistic and ethnic groups. However, English and French remain Cameroon’s official languages after the nation got its independence from both France and the United Kingdom back in 1960 and 1961 respectively.

 

Makossa and Bikutsi music are great characteristics of the country’s culture but what empowers Cameroon the most on the African continent is the nation’s pedigree and success in football. Cameroon’s national soccer team, The Indomitable Lions (Les Lions Indomptables, in French), is the most successful team in Africa, having won 4 Africa Cup of Nations trophies and participated in five previous FIFA World Cup editions.

Cameroon’s success in football is characterized by many other things which include their 2000 Summer Olympics triumph. The Indomitable Lions tasted glory several times in their history of football but among the multitude of cups that Cameroon won over the years, none of them came from a World Cup.

Still, Cameroon may remember the 1990 World Cup as an important moment in their history which helped them to elevate their image internationally. In that tournament, Cameroon reached the quarter-finals and became the first African country to do so. They caused a real scare to England who finally defeated them in extra time. That record is Africa’s best so far in the finals of a World Cup.

Cameroon’s senior national team, The Indomitable Lions, have not won any major trophy since 2002. Now they’ll seek to take advantage of the African soil and dominate over the rest to become the continent’s first World Cup winning nation. How fruitful will Cameroon’s South Africa 2010 campaign be?

Cameroon – the road to the 2010 FIFA World CupPlayers of Cameroon's national football team celebrate at the corner flag after a goal has been scored.

In accordance with CAF’s rule, Cameroon kicked off their joint 2010 Africa Cup of Nations & FIFA World Cup qualification campaign from Round 2. The First Round of qualifiers actually comprised Africa’s lowest ranked teams like Madagascar, Comoros, and Somalia who battled it out for places in the Second Round.

Second Round

Round 2 regrouped 48 countries sectioned into four pots. Cameroon were obviously selected in Pot A as top seeds ahead of the draw that took place on November 25, 2008, in Durban, South Africa.

As the 48 nations were divided into 12 groups, Cameroon fell into Group 1 for an easy start against the likes of Tanzania, Mauritius, and Cape Verde. The Indomitable Lions proved unstoppable and dominant, winning five games out of six and recording no defeat.

As Tanzania got held at home to Mauritius on match-day one in March 2008, Cameroon had the perfect opportunity to top the four-team table with victory in Yaoundé over Cape Verde. Rigobert Song indeed put the Indomitable Lions ahead with a goal in the opening ten minutes of the game before playmaker Samuel Eto’o converted a penalty on 56 minutes to round up Cameroon’s good start in the qualifiers.

Eto’o once again put his name on the scoring sheet as Cameroon trounced Mauritius 3-0 away from home on match-day two, in June. Defender Bikey and Bebbe also found the net to seal The Indomitable Lions’ comfortable victory. But in the next match, Cameroon surprisingly failed to score a single goal and therefore had to be content with a point from a goalless draw away to Tanzania.

Both teams met again eight days later and the last word went to the Indomitable Lions. Eto’o emerged as the hero of the clash as his 89th minute goal which completed his brace helped Cameroon to edge 2-1 past Tanzania.

They had a repeat of this score line, this time away to Cape Verde. Thanks to Emana and Tchoyi’s goals in the second period, the Cameroonians managed to cancel Lito’s 39th minute opener for Cape Verde and win ultimately.

In the final match of the Second Round, Cameroon secured an overwhelming 5-0 victory over Mauritius. Eto’o scored his fifth and sixth goals of the joint 2010 Africa Cup of Nations & World Cup qualification campaign before Meyong Ze scored a double and Makoun closed the scoring sheet twenty minutes from time.

Cameroon playing against Morocco during the Third Round of qualifiers.Third Round

After successfully reaching the next stage of the qualifiers, top seeds Cameroon were drawn in Group A. That section included the likes of Gabon, Togo, and Morocco. In the Third Round, only the top table finishers were to be given tickets to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

As Togo were banned by FIFA from staging games in Lome, Cameroon had to travel to Ghana to face their Togolese counterparts at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra. Football pundits had predicted a duel between Samuel Eto’o and Adebayor.

At the end of proceedings, it was Adebayor who had overshadowed Cameroon’s prolific striker Samuel Eto’o as the Togolese netted the only goal of the game for his country. Defeat away to Togo didn’t reflect Cameroon’s wish of a dream start in the Third Round. The team’s poor performance against the Togolese sparked up a lot of debates between fans of the Indomitable Lions who kept crying their dissatisfaction after Cameroon were held goalless at home to Morocco in the next game. 

September witnessed Cameroon bouncing back and answering critics with a 4-1 win over Gabon on aggregate. Eto’o finally found the net twice on the trot – firstly he scored in Cameroon’s 2-0 win in Libreville before scoring again in a 2-1 victory for the Indomitable Lions in Yaoundé.

Cameroon kicked off the second part of the Third Round of qualifiers in style. They successfully revenged themselves against Togo as they defeated them 3-0 on home soil thanks to Makoun and Emana’s second half goals which succeeded Geremi’s 29th minute opener.

Cameroon had previously drawn goalless at home to Morocco but the story was different when the team travelled all the way to Northern Africa. Striker Eto’o clinched his ninth goal of the campaign to help Cameroon beat the Moroccans 2-0 at the Fez Stadium.

Cameroon – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stage

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Cameroon will kick off their campaign three days after the opening day as they’ve been sectioned in Group E. Cameroon will need to play against two European teams, Denmark and the Netherlands, after commencing with a match against Japan.

Match-day One: Japan vs CameroonCameroon's national team players warming-up during a training session in Angola

At 16:00 South African local time on June 14, Japan and Cameroon will lock horns at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. It will be the 2010 FIFA World Cup’s tenth match.

For Cameroonians, opening the campaign against Japan in a group that contains the likes of automatic ticket holders Denmark and the Netherlands will perhaps come as a relief. It could take off a bit of pressure from The Indomitable Lions who will be hungry for victory in their first 2010 World Cup match.

Cameroon are arguably superior to the Japanese and the experience of several European based players such as Samuel Eto’o, Emana, or Makoun could help the Africans to dominate over their Asian counterparts. Should The Indomitable Lions fail to clinch three points against Japan on match-day one, it will put much pressure on them to qualify from the group as the Netherlands and Denmark are expected to pose many obstacles.

Match-day Two: Cameroon vs Denmark

Cameroon’s next game will take stage in Pretoria at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Playing as the home side, they’ll take on Denmark and the match is scheduled for a late kick off at 20:30 South African local time. Cameroon, like Denmark, reached the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as leaders of their group. The Indomitable Lions wouldn’t have gotten tickets for the tournament anyway if they had not topped their qualification table.

It could be hard to pick a predictable winner, considering both teams’ style of play. Perhaps, injury worries could play the trick for one and distract the other.

Match-day Three: Cameroon vs Netherlands

Finally, Cameroon will face Group E’s favorites the Netherlands. The match will kick off at 20:30 South African local time and it will take place at the Cape Town Stadium. As Cameroon look forward to surpass the quarter-finals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and possibly win the trophy, they’ll hope that match-day three’s fixture doesn’t come as a consolation game.

Depending on the importance of this clash, the public could witness much drama and thrill. The prospective union of Inter Milan teammates Samuel Eto’o and Wesley Sneijder should spice up that encounter.

Cameroon – 2010 FIFA World Cup squad

Goalkeepers:

Guy Roland Ndy Assembe; Carlos Kameni; Hamidou Souleymanou

Defenders:

Rigobert Song; Nicolas Nkoulou; Stephane Mbia; Geremi; Aurelien Chedjou; Gaetan Bong; Sebastien Bassong; Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Midfielders:

Alexandre Song; Landry Nguemo; Joel Matip; Georges Mandjeck; Jean II Makoun; Eyong Enoh

Forwards:

Achille Webo; Mohamadou Idrissou; Samuel Eto'o; Achille Emana; Eric Choupo-Moting; Vincent Aboubakar

Cameroon's skipper Samuel Eto'o celebrates with the rest of his mates during a friendly match.Cameroon – things to expect from the country and its top stars

Cameroon’s desire has always been to be the first African nation to lift the prestigious World Cup trophy. They currently hold the best record in Africa with a quarter-final place finish which came back in 1990.

Many people are tipping Ghana to step up above the rest of the six African participants during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. But The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon would like to impose themselves and go as far as they can get in the tournament.

In their last World Cup appearance (Korea-Japan 2002), Cameroon didn’t impress as they crashed out from the group stages of the tournament. Cameroon had mixed results and finally went home after losing their last group stage game to Germany. At the 2010 World Cup, they’ll aim to make history by living up to expectations.

Samuel Eto’o

He is the captain of the Cameroonian national football team and he is expected to inspire the squad with goals and a good mentality. Eto’o was Cameroon’s star during the qualifiers, netting nine times for his country. The striker will be asked to play with confidence and hunger in order to trouble opposite defenders.

Rigobert & Alexandre Song

Rigobert Song will surely be featuring in his last World Cup for Cameroon. The 34-year-old is an experienced player who has endured a lot of disappointments in recent years. But a great World Cup campaign will erase Song’s career downs and cement his title as a legend in Cameroonian football.

Meanwhile, his younger brother Alexandre Song is a rising star in Cameroon. His skills on the ball and his intelligence on the field of play keep powering the Indomitable Lions’ backline. Alexandre Song is well known for inspiring Cameroon’s midfield with his cruising runs which are often the source of the teams’ offensive opportunities.

Cameroon – Relevant quoteCameroon coach, Paul Le Guen

Cameroon coach, Paul Le Guen: “It will be a special World Cup”

“It could have been easier for us. It could also have been more difficult. The Netherlands are the clear favorites […]

"I don’t know too much about Denmark […] With Japan, I have some hard work ahead because the only player that I know well is Nakamura.

“But for Cameroon, we surely have good players and a good spirit. We’ve improved a lot since I first took the job.

“It will be a special World Cup for us because it is in Africa. I know the players feel that.”

Cameroon – FIFA World Cup record

The Indomitable Lions have the best FIFA World Cup record in Africa with five appearances and a quarter-finals place finish.

2010: Qualified

2002; 1998; 1994; 1982: Round 1

1990: Quarter-finals

Follow LiveSoccerTV.com during the summer as the site will bring you the World Cup at your fingertips. The site will cover Cameroon’s progress throughout the tournament!
 

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