Dubai: Cameroon’s hopes of reliving their glory days of 1990, when they became the first African side to reach a World Cup quarter-final, look slim after they were handed a tough draw in Brazil.

The hosts will surely take one of the two qualifying places from Group A, meaning the Indomitable Lions will battle it out with Mexico and Croatia for the other last-16 place.


Luis Vazquez/Gulf News

Cameroon’s passionate fans will look to Samuel Eto’o to spearhead their bid to progress, but the legendary striker is past his best and will struggle to lift a team that flunked at the 2010 edition after defeats by Japan and Denmark.

The squad is sprinkled with quality in places — including Barcelona’s defensive midfielder Alexandre Song, Rennes winger Jean Makoun and Marseille defender Nicolas Nkoulou — but their weaknesses in other areas are open to exploitation.

Cameroon will most likely play a physical, direct game in a bid to play to their strengths, but they will be vulnerable to sides that hold possession well and look to move the ball around to find gaps. Unfortunately for coach Volker Finke, all three group stage opponents are of that ilk.

Finke, however, has been around too long to be too fazed and is relishing his World Cup challenge.

“The match against the hosts might be the easiest,” the 66-year-old said recently. “As a coach, you don’t need to deliver any motivation because for any player to get a chance to play against Brazil is a real highlight in their career.

“We know that, at most, you might work in football for 20 to 30 years, but there will never be more than one chance in a career to participate in a World Cup in Brazil.

“It is a really good adventure, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Cameroon

Group A
Fifa ranking: 50

Top man

Samuel Eto’o
Date of birth: March 10, 1981 (age 33)
Place of birth: Douala
Height: 1.79m
Weight: 75kg
Playing position: Striker
International caps: 112. Goals: 55
Club: Chelsea (England)

  

Coach

Volker Finke
Date of birth: March 24, 1948 (age 66)
Place of birth: Nienburg, Germany
Manager since: May 2013
Record: P10 W4 D4 L2 — 40% win record 

Best 11 (4-5-1)

Itandje; Assou-Ekotto, Chedjou, N’Koulou, Enoh; Webo, Makoun, Song, Mbia, Moukandjo; Eto’o.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Loic Feudjou (Coton Sport), Charles Itandje (Konyaspor), Sammy Ndjock (Fethiyespor)

Defenders: Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur), Henri Bedimo (Olympique Lyon), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Cedric Djeugou (Coton Sport), Nicolas N'Koulou (Olympique Marseille), Dany Nounkeu (Besiktas), Allan Nyom (Granada)

Midfielders: Enoh Eyong (Antalyaspor), Jean Makoun (Stade Rennes), Joel Matip (Schalke 04), Stephane Mbia (Sevilla), Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy), Landry Nguemo (Girondins Bordeaux), Edgar Salli (Racing Lens), Alexandre Song (Barcelona)

Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Lorient), Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting (Mainz), Samuel Eto'o (Chelsea), Fabrice Olinga (Malaga), Achille Webo (Fenerbahce)

Group opponents

Brazil
Croatia
Mexico

Qualifying campaign

Topped CAF qualifying Group I ahead of Libya, DR Congo and Togo before beating Tunisia 4-1 in the knockout play-off round.

World Cup history

First tournament: 1982 (in Spain)
Appearances (excluding 2014): 6
Best finish: Quarter-finalists (1990)

Pros

  • Very strong in central midfield, with the likes of Alex Song, Jean Makoun, Stephane Mbia and Joel Matip available.
  • Possess a proven international goalscorer in Samuel Eto’o.
  • Cameroon are likely to be very well organised under experienced coach Volker Finke.

Cons

  • Haven’t played in a major tournament since 2010 as they failed to qualify for the last two African Cup of Nations.
  • Their normally direct approach may struggle to have an impact in South America, where teams tend to play a possession-based game.
  • Divisions within the camp badly affected their performances in 2010 and could surface again.

— With inputs from Reuters