André Onana has been hit with a fresh setback after being surprisingly omitted from Cameroon’s squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
The goalkeeper, cast aside by Manchester United and unable to regain his form in the early months of a loan with Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor, is among several high profile names not selected for the tournament that begins on Dec. 21.
Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar was left out too, as are fellow veterans Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Ngadeu. Napoli’s André-Frank Zambo Anguissa is another omission, although the midfielder has also been nursing a hamstring injury in recent weeks. Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo and Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba were both selected.
While Onana’s form at club level over a long period certainly could be a factor, it comes as the Cameroon football federation (Fecafoot) descends into more chaos. Manager Marc Brys was dismissed on Monday after national icon Samuel Eto’o was reelected as Fecafoot president.
Brys was appointed by Cameroon’s sports ministry over Eto’o’s head in 2024, a decision the former Barcelona, Inter and Chelsea striker tried to reverse. The ministry previously opposed Eto’o sacking Toni Conceição in 2021 after a third-place finish at a home AFCON.
Fecafoot and the government were thought to have agreed on the choice of Rigobert Song to lead Cameroon at the 2022 World Cup, but seemingly fell out again when Brys was chosen as the retired defender’s successor.
Under Brys, Cameroon failed to reach the 2026 World Cup after losing an African playoff against first time qualifiers DR Congo last month. Onana played in that shock 1–0 defeat, as did Ngadeu, Aboubakar and Wolves defender Jackson Tchatchoua, who also misses out on AFCON.
Onana’s Cameroon Record
Born near the capital city of Yaoundé, Onana has represented his country 53 times since debuting at the age of 20 in 2016. He established himself as No. 1 in 2018 but saw his career halt during a doping suspension in 2021 after a positive test in the preceding months, ruling him out of that year’s AFCON.
Onana reclaimed his place when the ban ended and went to the 2022 World Cup as starter, but was dropped after the opening game and ordered home over a disagreement with Song.
The goalkeeper didn’t return for almost a year and was subsequently in and out of the team until then re-establishing himself in the second half of 2024, directly coinciding with Brys’s hiring. He even captained Cameroon in the DR Congo playoff. But now that Brys is gone and control seems to be back with Eto’o and Fecafoot in the ever-changing battle of politics, so too is Onana.
Onana’s Rapid Fall From Grace
It was little over two years ago that Onana, having played a huge in Inter reaching the 2023 Champions League final, ranked sixth for the Yashin Trophy that year and also finished a very respectable 23rd in the overall Ballon d’Or standings—effectively considered to be among the best players in the world in any position, not just goalkeepers.
Erik ten Hag, Onana’s former boss at Ajax, was so keen on reuniting with him at Manchester United that the club ultimately discarded long-serving David de Gea. It was the great hope that the new stopper would revolutionise United’s entire way of playing.
The reality was different, with Onana’s form wildly inconsistent and the high-profile errors typically generating more noise than his match-winning performances.
Ruled out of preseason through injury ahead of 2025–26, Onana’s alleged request for a new contract to offset a pay cut linked to failure to qualify for European football didn’t give off a good impression and, even upon returning to fitness, was forced to sit on the bench behind Altay Bayındır.
His fate in Manchester was sealed when Senne Lammens joined from Royal Antwerp, with Onana completing a loan to Trabzonspor a few days later before the Turkish transfer window closed.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Andre Onana Hit With Fresh Setback As Cameroon’s AFCON Preparation Descends into Chaos.
