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38-year old Roger Milla's goalscoring exploits in Italia 1990 have gone into football folklore forever. Sadly though it remains the only bright spark in Cameroon's five previous visits to the World Cup Finals, remaining the solitary occasion that they ever breached the opening round of the competition. The present side led by the goalscoring prowess of Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o will be hoping for an encore 20-years after Milla danced Cameroon into the Quarter-finals.
The Indomitable Lions find themselves in a tough Group H which includes a very talented Netherlands side, hard-working Japan and Denmark. Fortunately for the Lions, they open their campaign against Japan and the Danes, and maximum points from those two games should render their battle with Netherlands of no consequence.
Cameroon's qualifying group consisted of Gabon, Togo and Morocco and after initial hiccups under coach Otto Pfister, the Indomitable Lions turned things around under new manager Paul Le Guen and topped their group with 13 points from 6 games.Cameroon made it to the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations in January 2010 losing out to eventual winners Egypt in extra time. The campaign was disappointing as the team was expected to at the very least reach the last four. In March, Cameroon played out a goal-less draw with World Champions Italy in an international friendly.
Key Players:
Samuel Eto'o: He is Cameroon's Captain and all time top scorer. The Inter Milan forward has a whole nation's expectations on his shoulders as he is easily the biggest star on the team. Eto'o will have to be at his best if Cameroon are to reach anywhere near the feat of 1990.
Alexandre Song: The Arsenal midfielder had a very good season in England, but unfortunately had nothing to show for it. Song's best position is that of a holding midfield, but has often been deployed at center-back for his country because of his height and speed.
Rigobert Song: Cameroon's most experienced player, Rigobert is Alex's significantly older cousin, and has participated in 3 FIFA World Cups. He is their top cap holder and is a solid defender having played for the likes of Galatasaray, Liverpool and West Ham United.
Team:
Goalkeepers: Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor), Carlos Kameni (Espanyol), Guy Roland Ndy Assembe (Valenciennes), Amour Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic)
Defenders: Jean Patrick Abouna Ndzana (Astres de Douala), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham), Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham), Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes), Aurelien Chedjou (Lille), Geremi Njitap (Ankaragucu), Stephane Mbia (Marseille), Makadji Boukar (Al Nahdha), Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco), Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)
Midfielders: Marcel Ndjeng (Augsburg), Eyong Enoh (Ajax), Jean II Makoun (Lyon), Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern), Joel Matip (Schalke), Patrick Mevoungou (Canon Sportif de Yaounde), Landry Nguemo (Celtic), Alexandre Song (Arsenal)
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Coton Sport), Eric Choupo-Moting (Nuremberg), Achille Emana (Betis), Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), Mohamadou Idrissou (Freiburg), Dorge Kouemaha (Club Brugges), Achille Webo (Mallorca), Jacques Zoua (FC Basel).
Top Goal Scorers: Samuel Eto'o (43), Pierre Webó (13)
Most Capped Players: Rigobert Song(133), Geremi Njitap(109)
Head Coach: Paul Le Guen
Form Guide: (LLDDD)
Mar 03, Italy 0-0 Cameroon
May 25, Georgia 0-0 Cameroon
May 29, Slovakia 1-1 Cameroon
Jun 2, Portugal 3-1 Cameroon
Jun 5, Serbia 4-3 Cameroon
Fixtures:
14-Jun: Japan vs Cameroon 3:00pm (GMT) - Match Report
19-Jun: Cameroon vs Denmark 7:30pm (GMT) - Match Report
24-Jun: Cameroon vs Netherlands 7:30 (GMT) - Match Report
Team Trivia
Cameroon was the first African team to reach the quarter finals, losing to Enlgand in extra time in the 1990 World Cup.
Also Read:
Group Competitior Previews: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan
File Photograph Copyright: Ryu Voelkel
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