Indomitable Lions return home with lessons from Qatar

Cameroon national football team is back in the country following their early exit from the ongoing  Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

The Indomitable Lions failed to advance to the knock out stages of the competition after recording one win, one loss and a draw in their three Group 'G' games to finish third behind Brazil and Switzerland with four points.

By defeating Brazil 1-0 in their final group game last Friday, Cameroon became first African country to beat the world’s top-ranked soccer nation in a World Cup match – a feat fans have equated to winning the coveted trophy.

In their previous encounter at the 2014 World Cup, Brazil defeated Cameroon 4-1.

The Indomitable Lions succeeded in ending Brazil’s dominance over African countries in Qatar, displaying a brilliant performance that inspires hope for a brighter future.

Yet, the five-time African champions also committed errors that cost them a place in the next round of the competition.

Former captain, now coach, Rigobert Song Bahanag who participated in four World Cups admitted during a post-match press conference after their final group game against Brazil that they made some mistakes which have served as lessons.

Improper selection

Though Song, who has been in charge for just over nine months following his appointment in February did not elaborate on the mistakes, pundits have been pointing at improper selection and poor coaching.

Song had been heavily criticised for excluding central defender, Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui from the World Cup squad. The defender was pivotal in Cameroon’s qualification for the tournament, but he was dropped under unclear circumstances. No official communication has been made regarding his case.

His absence was greatly felt in the 1-0 loss to Switzerland in the opening match. Three minutes into the second half, Swiss-Cameroonian, Breel Embolo took advantage of shambolic Cameroon defending to fire in the winning goal after a goalless first half. Cameroon thus missed an opportunity to pick a point from the opening match.

Dressing room rows followed after the Switzerland game as it would emerge Song was not happy with goalkeeper, Andre Onana who played a sweeper-keeper role with 26 touches outside the box – the most by a goalkeeper in a World Cup match since 1966.

Song who preferred “traditional goalkeeping” excluded Onana from Cameroon’s second outing against Serbia. Cameroon scored first in that match, but conceded two goals in a disastrous two minutes spell (45+1’ and 45+3’) just before the break. 

The Serbs went further ahead in the 53rd minute scoring freely past Saudi Arabia-based Epassy Devis who was fielded ahead of Onana in the Cameroon goal.

Onana puzzle

Serbia looked destined for victory until saviour, Vincent Aboubakar was introduced in the 55^th minute. It took just nine minutes for the 30-year-old Al Nassr striker to find the net running past Serbia's defence with a Castelletto-served ball and lobbing it over Serbia goalkeeper, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

The goal earlier ruled out for offside was awarded after VAR check, sending fans back home, especially those at the Yaounde City Council fan zone to their feet in celebration.

The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations top scorer was not done yet. Just two minutes later, Aboubakar set up captain Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting who leveled the scores. Aboubakar had played just 15 minutes in Cameroon’s opening 0-1 defeat to Switzerland.

Against Brazil, coach Song reshuffled the team – making changes at the defence as Onana had requested before being temporarily suspended for unexplained “disciplinary reasons”, and they won – not just against any other team but Brazil!

What if Onana was listened to and the right thing done before Serbia match? This is the question many fans are now asking and the Onana puzzle will no doubt be one of the issues to be discussed in review meetings that will follow in Yaounde.

Though, he has produced the best result the country has recorded at the World Cup in the last 20 years, Song waited too long to do the right thing, pundits say, blaming it on his inexperience. His future with the team is in doubt as Yaounde begins probing what went right and/or wrong in Qatar.

In a pre-match press conference ahead of the Serbia game, Song said he has a two-year contract to lead the team and intends to respect it, but Cameroon is known for sacking coaches due to poor performance.

In July, Fifa ordered the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) to pay Song’s predecessor Toni Conceicao over $1.6 million as compensation after sacking him without just cause.