Cameroon national football team

Cameroon
Nickname(s)	Les Lions Indomptables; (The Indomitable Lions)
Association	Fédération Camerounaise de Football
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC; (Central Africa)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Head coach	Denis Lavagne
Captain	Samuel Eto'o
Most caps	Rigobert Song (138)
Top scorer	Samuel Eto'o (53)
Home stadium	Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo
FIFA code	CMR
FIFA ranking	66
Highest FIFA ranking	11 (November 2006)
Lowest FIFA ranking	66 (February 2012)
Elo ranking	44
Highest Elo ranking	12 (June 2003)
Lowest Elo ranking	76 (April 1995)
Home colours	Away colours
First international
	Cameroon 9–2 Djibouti ; (Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
	Cameroon 9–2 Djibouti ; (Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest defeat
	Norway 6–1 Cameroon ; (Oslo, Norway; 31 October 1990); Russia 6–1 Cameroon ; (Palo Alto, California, USA; 28 June 1994); Costa Rica 5–0 Cameroon ; (San José, Costa Rica; 9 March 1997)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1982)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 1990
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	16 (First in 1970)
Best result	Winners, 1984, 1988,; 2000, 2002
Confederations Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 2001)
Best result	Runners-up, 2003

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The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions), is the national team of Cameroon and is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any other African nation. They were the first African team to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup, in 1990, losing to England in extra time. They have also won four Africa Cup of Nations titles.

[edit] History

Lions Indomptables former crest

[edit] First games

Cameroon played its first match against Djibouti in 1960, winning 9–2. They first qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in 1970, but were knocked out in the first round. Two years later, as host nation, the Indomitable Lions finished third in the 1972 Africa Cup of Nations. They would not qualify for the competition for another ten years.

[edit] FIFA 1982 World Cup

Cameroon qualified for its first FIFA World Cup in 1982. With the increase of 16 to 24 teams Cameroon qualified along with Algeria to represent Africa in Spain. Cameroon was drawn into group 1 with Italy, Poland, and Peru. In their first game Cameroon faced Peru and drew 0-0. They then had a second goalless draw with Poland before a surprise 1-1 draw with Italy. Despite being unbeaten they failed to qualify for the second round.

[edit] African Nations, 1984

Two years later Cameroon qualified for the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Côte d'Ivoire. They finished second in their first-round group before beating Algeria on penalties in the semi-final. In the final, Cameroon beat Nigeria 3–1 with goals from René N'Djeya, Théophile Abega and Ernest Ebongué to become champions of Africa for the first time.

[edit] FIFA 1990 World Cup

Cameroon qualified for the 1990 World Cup by surpassing Nigeria and beating Tunisia in the final round playoff. In the final tournament Cameroon were drawn into group B with Argentina, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Cameroon defeated defending champions Argentina in the opening game 1–0 with a goal scored by François Omam-Biyik. Cameroon later defeated Romania 2–1 and lost to the Soviet Union 0–4, becoming the first side to top a World Cup Finals group with a negative goal difference. In the second round Cameroon defeated Colombia 2–1 with the 38 year old Roger Milla scoring two goals in the extra time. In the quarter finals Cameroon faced England. After 25 minutes England's David Platt scored for England. In the second half however Cameroon came back with a 61st minute penalty from Emmanuel Kundé and took the lead with Eugène Ekéké on 65 minutes. England however equalized in the 83rd minute with a penalty from Gary Lineker. Lineker made in 3–2 for England with a penalty in the 105th minute. The team was coached by Russian manager and former player Valeri Nepomniachi.

[edit] FIFA 1994 World Cup

The 1994 World Cup in the USA saw the adjustment of representation for three African teams qualify. Cameroon qualified with Nigeria and Morocco. In the final tournament Cameroon were drawn into group B with Sweden, Brazil, and Russia. After a 2–2 draw against Sweden, Cameroon were determined to make an impact. However a 3–0 loss to Brazil and a 6–1 loss to Russia knocked them out. In their last game against Russia, the then 42 year old Roger Milla became the oldest player to play and score in a World Cup Finals match.

[edit] FIFA 1998 World Cup

The 1998 World Cup in France saw the increase of 24 to 32 teams. Cameroon qualified alongside five African countries. After qualifying as expected, Cameroon were drawn into group B with Italy, Chile, and Austria. Despite drawing with Chile and Austria, a 3–0 defeat to Italy saw Cameroon finish bottom of the group, and they were eliminated as a result. It was an unfortunate elimination, since Cameroon had lead Austria 1-0 until the 90th minute, and had two goals dubiously ruled out in a 1-1 draw with Chile. Cameroon had three players sent off in the course of the tournament, more than any other team, despite only playing three games out of a possible seven. They also had the highest card count per game of any team, collecting an average of four bookings in each match they played.^[1]

[edit] 2002 FIFA World Cup

Cameroon qualified for the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan clinching first place in their group which included Angola, Zambia, and Togo. In a warm-up game, Cameroon again came close to being the first African team to defeat England, in a 2–2 draw. England as yet haven`t beaten an African nation. Cameroon were drawn into group E with Germany, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. Cameroon started with a 1–1 draw with Ireland after giving up the lead and later defeated Saudi Arabia 1–0. In their last game Cameroon were defeated 2–0 by Germany and were narrowly eliminated by the Irish who had not lost a game.

[edit] Missing out on Germany 2006

In the 2006 World Cup qualifying round Cameroon were drawn into group 3 with Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and Benin. Cameroon led the group for most of the time until their final game. On October 8, 2005 Cameroon drew with Egypt 1–1 while Côte d'Ivoire defeated Sudan 3–1. This result prevented Cameroon from making the World Cup.

[edit] 2010 World Cup Qualification

In Cameroon's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, the team was grouped with the Gabon, Togo, and Moroccan national football teams. After a slow start in their campaign, with a shocking loss to Togo and a draw against Morocco, the coach of Cameroon, Otto Pfister, was fired and Frenchman Paul Le Guen was appointed as the new coach. Le Guen's appointment caused an uprise in Cameroon's spirits as they got a win against Gabon in Libreville, followed by another win against the Panthers four days later in Yaounde. One month later, they defeated Togo in Yaounde by 3 goals. On November 14, 2009, Cameroon defeated the Atlas Lions of Morocco 2–0 in Fez in their last match of their campaign. Gabon was also defeated by Togo 1–0 in Lome. Both results caused Cameroon to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.^[2]

The Indomitable Lions were the first team to be mathematically eliminated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, going out in their second group match to Denmark after losing it 1–2, following a 0–1 defeat to Japan.

[edit] Controversy about sleeveless and one-piece kits

Cameroon used sleeveless PUMA shirts at the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali. FIFA, however, didn't allow Cameroon to use the same kits at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and black sleeves were added to the shirts.^[3] The 2004 African Cup of Nations witnessed Cameroon again run into controversy regarding their kits. PUMA had designed a one-piece kit for the Cameroon team which FIFA declared illegal, stating that the kits must have separate shirts and shorts. FIFA then imposed fines on Cameroon and deducted six points from their qualifying campaign. PUMA argued that a two-piece kit is not stated as a requirement in the FIFA laws of the game. PUMA however lost the case in court, and Cameroon were forced to wear two-piece kits, but FIFA subsequently restored the six qualifying points to Cameroon.

[edit] The death of a team member

In the 72nd minute of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final between Cameroon and Colombia, midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed. He was pronounced dead several hours later. In the final against France, Cameroon wore shirts embroidered with Foé's name and dates of birth and death.

[edit] World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did Not Enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew
1970	Did Not Enter
1974
1978
1982	Group Stage	17th	3	0	3	0	1	1
1986	Did Not Qualify
1990	Quarter-Final	8th	5	3	0	2	7	9
1994	Group Stage	22nd	3	0	1	2	3	11
1998	Group Stage	25th	3	0	2	1	2	5
2002	Group Stage	20th	3	1	1	1	2	3
2006	Did Not Qualify
2010	Group Stage	31st	3	0	0	3	2	5
2014	To Be Determined
2018
2022
Total	Quarter-Final	6/19	20	4	7	9	19	34

[edit] FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Did Not Qualify
1995
1997
1999
2001	Group Stage	6th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad
2003	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	3	1	Squad
2005	Did Not Qualify
2009	Did Not Qualify
2013	To Be Determined
2017
2021
Total	Runners-up	2/8	8	4	1	3	5	5	-

[edit] African Nations Cup record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 4 Appearances: 16
Year	Position	Year	Position	Year	Position	Year	Position
1957	Did not enter	1976	Did not qualify	1994	Did not qualify	2012	Did not qualify
1959	Did not enter	1978	Did not qualify	1996	Round 1
1962	Did not enter	1980	Did not qualify	1998	Quarter-finals
1963	Did not enter	1982	Round 1	2000	Champions
1965	Did not enter	1984	Champions	2002	Champions
1968	Did not qualify	1986	Second place	2004	Quarter-finals
1970	Round 1	1988	Champions	2006	Quarter-finals
1972	Third place	1990	Round 1	2008	Second place
1974	Did not qualify	1992	Fourth place	2010	Quarter-Finals

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

The following players were named to the squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Guinea Bissau on 29 February 2012, respectively.

Caps and goals updated as of June 7, 2011.

Pos.	Player	Date of Birth (Age)	Caps	Goals	Club
GK	Charles Itandje	2 November 1982 (1982-11-02) (age 29)	0	0	Atromitos
GK	Carlos Kameni	18 February 1984 (1984-02-18) (age 28)	63	0	Málaga
GK	Souleymanou Hamidou	22 November 1973 (1973-11-22) (age 38)	25	0	Kayserispor

DF	Nicolas N'Koulou	27 March 1990 (1990-03-27) (age 21)	30	0	Marseille
DF	Henri Bedimo	4 June 1984 (1984-06-04) (age 27)	15	0	Montpellier
DF	Gaëtan Bong	25 April 1988 (1988-04-25) (age 23)	9	0	Valenciennes
DF	Aurélien Chedjou	20 June 1985 (1985-06-20) (age 26)	18	0	Lille
DF	Benoit Assou-Ekotto	24 March 1984 (1984-03-24) (age 27)	17	0	Tottenham Hotspur
DF	Dany Nounkeu	11 April 1986 (1986-04-11) (age 25)	3	0	Gaziantepspor
DF	Allan Nyom	10 May 1988 (1988-05-10) (age 23)	0	0	Granada

MF	Georges Mandjeck	9 December 1988 (1988-12-09) (age 23)	11	0	Auxerre
MF	Joël Matip	8 August 1991 (1991-08-08) (age 20)	7	0	Schalke 04
MF	Stéphane Mbia	20 May 1986 (1986-05-20) (age 25)	38	3	Marseille
MF	Landry N'Guémo	28 November 1985 (1985-11-28) (age 26)	28	3	Bordeaux
MF	Jean Makoun	29 May 1983 (1983-05-29) (age 28)	54	3	Olympiacos
MF	Alex Song	9 September 1987 (1987-09-09) (age 24)	27	0	Arsenal

FW	Vincent Aboubakar	22 January 1992 (1992-01-22) (age 20)	10	1	Valenciennes
FW	Henri Bienvenu	5 July 1988 (1988-07-05) (age 23)	2	0	Fenerbahçe
FW	Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting	23 March 1989 (1989-03-23) (age 22)	12	4	Mainz 05
FW	Samuel Eto'o	10 March 1981 (1981-03-10) (age 31)	109	54	Anzhi Makhachkala
FW	Benjamin Moukandjo	12 November 1988 (1988-11-12) (age 23)	4	0	Nancy
FW	Jacques Zoua	6 September 1991 (1991-09-06) (age 20)	0	0	Basel

[edit] Recent Callups

Pos.	Player	Date of Birth (Age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest Call-up
GK	Jean Efala	8 November 1992 (1992-11-08) (age 19)	0	0	Fovu Baham	vs Morocco, 15 November 2011 (Friendly)
GK	Jules Goda	30 May 1989 (1989-05-30) (age 22)	1	0	Portimonense	vs Equatorial Guinea, 11 October 2011 (Friendly)

DF	Banana Yaya	29 July 1990 (1990-07-29) (age 21)	3	0	FC Sochaux	vs Morocco, 15 November 2011 (Friendly)
DF	Jean-Patrick Abouna	17 November 1988 (1988-11-17) (age 23)	3	0	Astres	vs Equatorial Guinea, 11 October 2011 (Friendly)
DF	Sébastien Bassong	9 July 1986 (1986-07-09) (age 25)	16	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	vs Equatorial Guinea, 11 October 2011 (Friendly)
DF	George Elokobi	31 January 1986 (1986-01-31) (age 26)	0	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	vs Senegal, 27 March 2011 (2012 AFCON Qualifier)
DF	André Amougou	8 January 1985 (1985-01-08) (age 27)	25	1	Burnley	vs Macedonia, 9 February 2011 (Friendly)
DF	Haman Sadjo	28 November 1984 (1984-11-28) (age 27)	2	0	Budapest Honvéd	vs Macedonia, 9 February 2011 (Friendly)

MF	Eyong Enoh	23 March 1986 (1986-03-23) (age 25)	24	1	Ajax	vs Morocco, 15 November 2011 (Friendly)
MF	Somen Tchoyi	29 March 1983 (1983-03-29) (age 28)	15	2	West Bromwich Albion	vs Morocco, 15 November 2011 (Friendly)
MF	Matthew Mbuta	21 December 1985 (1985-12-21) (age 26)	9	3	Dinamo Bucharest	vs Morocco, 15 November 2011 (Friendly)
MF	Eric Djemba-Djemba	4 May 1981 (1981-05-04) (age 30)	35	0	OB	vs Equatorial Guinea, 11 October 2011 (Friendly)
MF	André Ndamé Ndamé	30 November 1987 (1987-11-30) (age 24)	1	0	Coton Sport Garoua	vs Russia, 7 June 2011 (Friendly)
MF	Marcel Ndjeng	6 May 1982 (1982-05-06) (age 29)	5	0	Augsburg	vs Congo DR, 9 October 2010 (2012 AFCON Qualifier)
MF	Franck Songo'o	24 May 1987 (1987-05-24) (age 24)	1	0	Albacete	vs Congo DR, 9 October 2010 (2012 AFCON Qualifier)
MF	Achille Emana	5 June 1982 (1982-06-05) (age 29)	38	6	Real Betis	2010 FIFA World Cup

FW	Paul Alo'o	12 November 1983 (1983-11-12) (age 28)	9	0	Le Havre	vs Equatorial Guinea, 11 October 2011 (Friendly)
FW	Duvalois Ngako	14 July 1987 (1987-07-14) (age 24)	0	0	Lemona	vs Congo DR, 11 October 2011 (2012 AFCON Qualifier)
FW	Pierre Webó	20 January 1982 (1982-01-20) (age 30)	49	17	İstanbul B.B.	vs Russia, 7 June 2011 (Friendly)