Cameroon will be making their eighth appearance at the World Cup with their debut coming in 1982. Eight years later, they made a surprise appearance in Italia ’90, leaving a lasting impression on the history of the competition as one of only two CAF countries (the other being Egypt) to make it to the finals that year. They unexpectedly defeated the reigning champions Argentina, captained by the late great Diego Maradona, and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Bobby Robson’s England to much fanfare.
They achieved this by progressing farther than any other African country had ever done at a World Cup; since then, only Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 have accomplished the same feat. Cameroon has only managed one victory from 15 group-stage games in their last five tournament outings combined since making their debut on the international stage 32 years ago. Regarding talent from the UK, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo won his maiden cap after renouncing his French nationality in a recent friendly defeat to Uzbekistan. Olivier Ntcham of Swansea City is likewise a fringe player.
In group play, the “Indomitable Lions” have been dealt a bad hand. They face Switzerland to start, then Serbia and the heavily favored Brazil. In FIFA’s pre-tournament rankings, all three of these countries are positioned much higher. It goes without saying that it will be difficult to qualify for a four-team classification that is so competitive. At the commencement of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, their star player, Vincent Aboubakar, blazed through the competition, ending with eight goals to lead all scorers.
Lyon’s wing-man Karl Toko Ekambi won second place with a very acceptable five strikes. They both scored significantly more than Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane combined. Andre Anguissa, whose masterclass for Napoli contributed to Liverpool’s humiliation in Naples back in early September, and Eric Choupo-Moting of Bayern Munich are also on their roster of players. So, there are a few players with remarkable talent who will need to perform just as well in the World Cup if Cameroon has any aspirations of advancement.
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