Cameroon at the World Cup

Cameroon

 

Manager:Paul Le Guen

Captain: Samuel Eto’o

FIFA World Ranking: 14

World Cup Appearances: 6

Best World Cup: Quarter-Finals – 1990

 

 

 

Profile:

 

Cameroon are one of the more recognisable Africa nations, this being mainly down to their six appearances in a World Cup previously. What’s more, the emergence of some exciting Cameroon players has often helped them to stand out from what is a big crowd. They had Roger Milla, arguably the greatest football player Cameroon have ever produced, and now they have Inter Milan and former Barcelona favourite, Samuel Eto. The latter has often been the driving force in what has been a stuttering Cameroon train of late, with Eto bagging eight goals during the lengthy qualification progress for Cameroon.

 

Undoubtedly, the big attraction with Cameroon will be Samuel Eto up front as the rest of the team doesn’t boast many world beaters. However, manager Paul le Guen will look in the direction of Cameroon’s greatest ever display in a World Cup, back in 1990, when Cameroon reached the quarter-finals, beating Argentina, Colombia and nearly undoing England along the way. However, since that memorable tournament Cameroon have struggled to compete with the major nations and haven’t actually bypassed a single group, failing to progress past the group stages in their last three World Cup appearances.

 

 

Manager:

 

Paul Le Guen has enjoyed a mixed bag of fortunes during his managerial career, with his spell at Lyon his best to date. His manager C.V. Consists of stints at Lyon, Rangers, Rennes and more recently, Paris Saint Germain. However, his last spell at a French club, PSG, didn’t go accordingly with PSG spending vast amounts of the season near or in the relegation zone. Le Guen did eventually guide PSG away from the dreaded drop but received the drop as a result of a terribly poor season. PSG are now performing very well in Ligue 1 so perhaps his style wasn’t favoured by the players.

 

This is Paul Le Guen’s first spell at International level, though, and although he has met the expectations and demands at the Cameroon helm, there were stages where Cameroon’s arrival in the World Cup was on the rocks. Nevertheless, Cameroon did qualify and now Paul le Guen can look forward and prepare for his first ever World Cup as a manager, after he failed to make any previous final as a player for France.

 

Although Paul Le Guen has been fairly successful as a manager, all of his success has come in the French leagues, so there will be reservations over his credentials to guide Cameroon to international success on the big stage. He has won the French Ligue 1 three times with Lyon, while he won the French cup on three occasions, also.

 

 

 

Key Player:

 

Samuel Eto’o –

 

There has to be no doubt as to who Cameroon’s best player is right now. The Inter Milan ace will be pivotal in how Cameroon fair in this summers showcase event as not only does he lead by example on the pitch, others look up to him off it, also. He has enjoyed a wealth of success at club level and his knowledge of the game is one of the many reasons why he captains Cameroon.

 

During qualifying, Eto almost single handily dragged Cameroon into the finals, scoring eight goals, five more than anyone else in the Cameroon set up. His sheer pace on and off the ball will scare the living daylights out of most defenders and keep even the very best on their toes. His cunning and wit in the penalty area has made him one of the most feared strikers on the planet and, although the rest of the squad can’t get anywhere near Eto’s level, as long as they create half-a-chance for the Inter forward, chances are he will take it.

 

 

 

Strengths:

 

Most African sides boast pace as their strongest asset and Cameroon are no exception. We all know about Samuel Eto’o, but Pierro Webo & Achille Emana also boast bags of speed in abundance, while Lyon’s Jean Makoun provides a safety netting over the Cameroon defence. The Cameroon squad does actually pack a lot of big club experience so the players, although some won’t be too familiar with a World Cup atmosphere, shouldn’t be too shy and reserved on the big stage. In fact, Le Guen opted to use just one home based player during Cameroon’s qualifying bid – Haman Sadjo being the only exception to a European based rule it would seem.

 

 

Weakness:

 

Although most of the entire squad plies their trade in Europe, not too many actually play for big teams so it’s hard to consider that they will have the required level to go far this summer. They have the raw material for a successful campaign, speed, strength, determination – but consistency will be a big issue for most and although we could actually envisage them getting fired up for the big games, African players do have a terrible trait for not getting motivated against the smaller nations, sides they should beat.

 

 

 

Qualification:

 

Sector: Africa

Group: A

Position: 1st

Win-Draw-Lose: 6-1-1

Goals Scored: 9

Goals Conceded: 2

 

 

 

 

Qualifying statistics:

 

 

• Cameroon were one of two nations to qualify on the very last set of fixtures, beating Morocco 2-0 to book their spot in the finals.

• Samuel Eto’o was back to his prolific self when in a Cameroon shirt, netting no less than eight goals during qualifying, the second best tally in the African continent.

• Cameroon actually had the best defensive record throughout the lengthy qualifying period, conceding just four goals in 12 fixtures.

• Kameni, the goalkeeper, Jean Makoun & veteran Rigobert Song, were the only three players to partake in every qualifier in the group stage of qualifying.

 

 

World Cup Potential: 2/5

 

Cameroon could be a nuisance side at this summers show-piece but it’s hard to envisage Paul; Le Guen outfit actually delving into the deeper part of the tournament. They do boast a handful of players that will dangerous and lively characters but consistency will undoubtedly be an issue. Samuel Eto’o will capture the heart of the nation as his pace and trickery in the final third will keep the fans back home not only excited but also in hope that their captain could inspire the team to great success. However, they will do well to escape what will more than likely be a tough group.

 

 

 

Current World Cup Odds: 125/1 – SkyBet

World Cup Group E - Table

Rank	Team	Matches / Points
	Netherlands	0 Matches / 0 Points
	Denmark	0 Matches / 0 Points
	Japan	0 Matches / 0 Points
	Cameroon	0 Matches / 0 Points

World Cup Fixtures and Results