With national legend Samuel Eto’o presiding as federation president, the Indomitable Lions booked their ticket to the World Cup in stunning fashion in March by upsetting Algeria. Trailing 2–1 on aggregate in the second leg of the World Cup qualifying playoff, Karl Toko Ekambi scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time in extra-time to punch his nation’s World Cup ticket on away goals. While there is plenty to argue about how Cameroon arrived, it will look to make its mark in a group where most have it pegged to finish last.
After the nation finished third in the African Cup of Nations it hosted last winter, Cameroon dismissed Toni Conceição and brought in soccer legend Rigobert Song for the qualifying playoff. Song, the uncle of former national team midfielder Alex Song, got the job done despite his coaching experience being limited to just the Cameroon national team youth setup. A former Liverpool and West Ham defender, the 46-year-old is Cameroon’s all-time appearances leader with 137 caps and played in four World Cups.
But other than the World Cup playoff triumph, Cameroon has struggled under Song with four losses in seven matches so far. One of the most concerning issues is that Cameroon has been shut out in five of its last nine games despite its top players mostly coming at the forward position. The Indomitable Lions will arrive with some top-level talent spread around Europe, such as Napoli midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Inter Milan goalkeeper André Onana and Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. But a massive challenge awaits in Qatar.
