The Indomitable Lions carry the distinction of being Africa’s most frequent visitors to the World Cup finals and in Qatar are making their eighth finals appearance, but this might be their weakest side yet.
That is quite some indictment, as there have been some poor Cameroonian team previously, like in the United States in 1994 and South Africa in 2010. Hopes for a repeat of some of the heroics of 1990 are stretching the imagination.
Qualification for Cameroon was a fortuitous affair as they snatched a last gasp extra time win in Algeria in the second of their playoff tie in March to book their berth on the away goals rule.
Their win came some six weeks after the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which they hosted but failed to win, never providing anything near a performance of conviction.
Drawn in group G, Cameroon need positive results in their opening two games against Switzerland and Serbia before meeting Brazil in their last group game.
They have lost their previous seven matches at the finals, last winning a World Cup game 20 years ago in the tournament in Japan when they edged Saudi Arabia by a lone Samuel Eto’o goal. In the 2010 and 2014 finals, they lost all their matches.
COACH
Rigobert Song is among Africa’s most decorated footballers, competing at three World Cup finals and a record eight Africa Cup of Nations finals tournaments, winning two, as he amassed 135 caps for Cameroon. His playing career included time in the Premier League (with Liverpool and West Ham United) and in Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Bundesliga. But his coaching career has been restricted to the Cameroon under-23 team, with whom he failed to qualify for the last Olympics in Tokyo. After being named the new coach in March, he took charge of Cameroon’s decisive two playoff qualifiers.
PROFILES
GOALKEEPER
Andre ONANA
Bounced back impressively from a nine-month drug ban to win a move to Inter Milan after refusing to renew his contract with Ajax Amsterdam. He started out at the Samuel Eto’o academy and went to Barcelona’s La Masia in his early teens before signing for the Dutch giants.
Devis EPASSY
French-born product of Stade Rennes but never got to play in Ligue 1, moving to Spain, Greece and now Saudi Arabia where he is in the second division at Abha Club. He got his chance for caps last year when Onana was out suspended.
Simon NGAPANDOUETBU
French under-19 international who has switched allegiance but is still to debut at senior level, although this is his third season in the Olympique Marseille squad, having signed his first professional contract in 2019. Cameroon will use him as a backup and also with an eye on the future.
DEFENCE
Jean-Charles CASTELLETTO/
The centre back's father is Italian and his mother is from Cameroon. He helped Nantes to win the French Cup last season. He was 20 years old when he featured for Belgium’s Club Brugge in the Champions League against Manchester United and he also played for France at under-20 level.
Collins FAI
Diminutive left back who spent six-and-a-half seasons with Standard Liege in Belgium before moving to Al Tai in Saudi Arabia. A product of Union Douala, he was in the Cameroon side that won the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2017 under the Belgian coach Hugo Broos.
Nicolas NKOULOU
Recalled by Cameroon in September after a five-and-a-half-year absence, having last played for the Indomitable Lions when they won the Cup of Nations in 2017, where he scored a goal in the final. He captained the side at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil and played at club level for Monaco, Olympique Marseille, Lyon, Torino, Watford and now in Greece.
Olivier MBAIZO
The right back has been a catalyst for Philadelphia Union in a dominant performance in the regular season in Major League Soccer this year. The club signed him from Union Douala after spotting him in Cameroon’s junior sides and first sent him to play in their affiliate club Bethlehem Steel.
Michael NGADEU
An influential figure in defence, who is one of the survivors of the squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017. At Belgium’s KAA Gent last season, he played more minutes than any player in any of the major European leagues. He is a towering presence at set pieces, scoring twice in the World Cup qualifiers.
Tolo NOUHOU
Winner of the Concacaf Champions League this year with his American club Seattle Sounders where he is a fan favourite for his antics on the left side of defence. He was named an MLS All Star last year and in the Concacaf Champions League Best XI this year. He won his first Cameroon cap in 2017.
Christopher WOOH
He broke through at his home club Nancy before signing for Racing Lens and then, after only one year, moved onto Stade Rennes in a four-year 10-million-euro deal where his salary went up fourfold. He made his Cameroon debut in June but is still waiting for a debut at his new club.
Oumar GONZALEZ
Uncapped before September’s international window but a Ligue 1 regular after playing a prominent part in AJ Ajaccio's promotion at the end of last season. Born in Douala, he grew up in France where he joined FC Metz’s junior teams. He has played for Cameroon’s under-23 side in the qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Enzo TCHATO
He made his Ligue 1 debut last season for Montpellier, his home town club, but has not yet featured for the Indomitable Lions. He was born in the French town when his father Bill was playing for the club. Tchato senior played for Cameroon at the World Cup in Japan in 2002.
Darlin YONGWA
He is a left-sided player who won his first cap in September after a first call-up. He left Cameroon as an unknown three years ago to join Niort in Ligue 2 but is now in the top flight of French football with Lorient, where he says he is happy to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Vincent Aboubakar, who had previously played at the club.
MIDFIELD
Andre-Frank ZAMBO ANGUISSA
The box-to-box midfielder has been key in both defence and attack for his country. He was sold by Fulham to Napoli and has helped his club to a brilliant start in Serie A and the Uefa Champions League this season. He played at Cameroon champions Coton Sport before moving to Stade Reims in France as a junior.
Samuel OUM GOUET
He has been a regular in the Indomitable Lions throughout this year’s Cup of Nations finals and World Cup qualifying playoffs, playing in centre midfield. His first cap for Cameroon was against Japan in a 0-0 draw in the Netherlands two years ago. He first played in Austria and then Belgium.
Martin HONGLA
The hardman of the Cameroon midfield whose club career has not developed as prestigiously as many predicted it would. He is now at Verona in Italy after being at Barcelona B and then Antwerp in Belgium. He made his way to Europe from the academy in Cameroon run by Blaise Nkufo, the former Swiss international.
Pierre KUNDE
Signed as a teenager by Atletico Madrid, he has played in LaLiga, the Bundesliga and the Champions League with current club Olympiakos. He is a powerfully built player who looks more like a wrestler. He hails from Limbe in the English-speaking area of Cameroon.
Olivier NTCHAM
He is a French junior international who first came onto the Cameroon radar in 2019 but only made his debut for the team this past September. At club level, he was on the books at Manchester City but never got a game there, competing rather for Olympique Marseille, Glasgow Celtic and now in the English Championship at Swansea City. He was born in Paris.
Jean ONANA
He is another product of Blaise Nkufo’s academy, who made his way to Ligue 1 through Portugal and signed for Lens after Girondins Bordeaux were relegated in the last campaign. His international debut came against Japan in 2020 and he played at the Cup of Nations finals at the start of the year.
Gael ONDOUA
He has had a journeyman career with clubs in Denmark, Russia, Switzerland and now in the German second division at Hannover 96. He was a youth team player at Lokomotiv Moscow, named best player when they won the Russian Youth Cup in 2012, before being promoted to the first team squad.
Georges MANDJECK
Recalled to the squad in September after winning the last of his 47 caps at the 2019 Cup of Nations finals in Egypt. He is a veteran of the team.
FORWARD
Vincent ABOUBAKAR
He is the captain of the team, who was picked at the age of 18 for the 2010 World Cup finals as the successor to Samuel Eto’o. He also played at the 2014 finals in Brazil. He was a champion in Portugal at FC Porto where his goals made him a fan favourite and was at Besiktas before moving to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr last year.
Eric-Maxime CHOUPO MOTING
He played at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups after switching allegiance from Germany, where he was a junior international and born in Hamburg. He has had an impressive array of employers at club level including PSG and Bayern Munich.
Ignatius GANAGO
He has never played club football in Cameroon, moving directly to French club Nice through the EFCB academy in Douala. He made his Ligue 1 debut in 2017, moved to Racing Lens in 2020 in a six-million-euro deal and since September, has been on the books of Nantes.
Nicolas Moumi NGAMALEU
His wide play on the left side is a key part of Cameroon's attack and he should be one of the first on the team sheet in Qatar. At Swiss club Young Boys Berne, he has won three championships between 2018-2020 after also winning three titles in Cameroon with Coton Sport from 2013-15.
Leandre TAWAMBA
He is a late bloomer who has had a journeyman career with a myriad of clubs in his native Cameroon, South Africa, Slovakia, Libya, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Saudi Arabia, where he was the league’s top scorer in 2019. He is suddenly back on the radar after 23 goals for Al Taawoun last season.
Karl TOKO EKAMBI
The French-born wide attacker scored the last-gasp goal against Algeria that ensured World Cup qualification. He is the regular right-sided attacker in the team. Villareal paid 20 million euros to sign him from Angers in 2018 and Olympique Lyonnais bought him for 11.5 million in June 2020.
Georges-Kevin NKOUDOU
He played for France at the 2017 U-21 European Championship when he was still at Tottenham Hotspur but is a late addition to the Cameroon squad after a switch of loyalty and a debut in September. Last season was his best return at club level when he scored eight goals for Besiktas.
Bryan MBEUMO
He switched his international allegiance after playing for France at junior level when Samuel Eto’o persuaded him to play at the World Cup for Cameroon. He is a cult figure at Brentford after helping the small London club win a place in the Premier League. He joined them from his first club Troyes.
Jean-Pierre NSAME
Despite being a four-time champion with Swiss club Young Boys, he has struggled to get into the Cameroon squad. He won a first cap in 2017, a second two years ago and then two more this past September after a three-year hiatus. He is Cameroon-born but brought up in France where his first club was Angers.