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Cameroon national football team

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 Cameroon
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Les Lions Indomptables
(The Indomitable Lions)
AssociationFédération Camerounaise de Football
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Head coachPaul Le Guen
CaptainSamuel Eto'o
Most capsRigobert Song (133)
Top scorerSamuel Eto'o (44)
Home stadiumStade Omnisports
FIFA codeCMR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current19
Highest11 (November 2006)
Lowest62 (April 1997)
First international
Cameroon 9 - 2 Djibouti Djibouti
(Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
Cameroon 9 - 2 Djibouti Djibouti
(Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest defeat
Norway Norway 6 - 1 Cameroon Cameroon
(Oslo, Norway; 31 October 1990)
Russia Russia 6 - 1 Cameroon Cameroon
(Palo Alto, California, USA; 28 June 1994)
Costa Rica Costa Rica 5 - 0 Cameroon Cameroon
(San José, Costa Rica; 9 March 1997)
World Cup
Appearances5 (first in 1982)
Best resultQuarterfinals, 1990
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances16 (first in 1970)
Best resultWinners, 1984, 1988,
2000, 2002
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2001)
Best resultRunners-up, 2003
Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney[1] Team

The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions), is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side; Cameroon has 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 quarterfinal of the World Cup, in 1990, losing to England in extra time. They have also won four Africa Cup of Nations and a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics[1].

History

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.

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 Italy and held on to a surprising 1-1 draw. Cameroon held Peru and Poland to 0-0 draws but failed to qualify for the second round.

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 Abéga and Ernest Ebongué to be crowned champions of Africa for the first time.

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 shocked the world by defeating holders Argentina 1-0 with a goal scored by Omam Biyick (header). Cameroon later defeated Romania 2-1 and lost to the Soviet Union 4-0, 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 Roger Milla scoring two goals in the extra time. In the quarter finals Cameroon faced England. At 25 minutes England's David Platt scored for England. In the second half however Cameroon came back with a 61st minute penalty from Kunde and took the lead with Ekeke at 65 minutes. England however equalized in the 83rd minute with a penalty from Lineker. Lineker made in 3-2 for England with a penalty in the 105th minute. Cameroon had nearly created one of the greatest upsets in the 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 convincing 2-2 draw with Sweden, Cameroon were determined to make an impact. However a 3-0 loss to Brazil and a 6-1 loss to Russia effectively ended their hopes of glory.

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. Cameroon notably 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.[2]

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.

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. 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.

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.

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 time unitil 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.

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.[4]

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1930 to 1962 Did not enter - - - - - - -
1966 Withdrew - - - - - - -
1970 to 1978 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
1982 Round 1 17 3 0 3 0 1 1
1986 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
1990 Quarter-finals 7 5 3 0 2 7 9
1994 Round 1 22 3 0 1 2 3 11
1998 Round 1 25 3 0 2 1 2 5
2002 Round 1 20 3 1 1 1 2 3
2006 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
2010 Qualified 1
Total 6/19 17 4 7 6 15 30

Confederations Cup record

Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
1992 to 1999 Did not qualify - - - - - -
2001 Round 1 3 1 0 2 2 4
2003 Second place 5 3 1 1 3 1
2005 to 2009 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Total 2/8 8 4 1 3 5 5

African Nations Cup record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 4
Appearances: 16
Year Position Year Position Year Position
Sudan 1957 Did not enter Ethiopia 1976 Did not qualify Tunisia 1994 Did not qualify
Egypt 1959 Did not enter Ghana 1978 Did not qualify South Africa 1996 Round 1
Ethiopia 1962 Did not enter Nigeria 1980 Did not qualify Burkina Faso 1998 Quarter-finals
Ghana 1963 Did not enter Libya 1982 Round 1 GhanaNigeria 2000 Champions
Tunisia 1965 Did not enter Ivory Coast 1984 Champions Mali 2002 Champions
Ethiopia 1968 Did not qualify Egypt 1986 Second place Tunisia 2004 Quarter-finals
Sudan 1970 Round 1 Morocco 1988 Champions Egypt 2006 Quarter-finals
Cameroon 1972 Third place Algeria 1990 Round 1 Ghana 2008 Second place
Egypt 1974 Did not qualify Senegal 1992 Fourth place Angola 2010 Quarter-Finals

Current squad

Final 23 men squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Idriss Carlos Kameni (1984-02-18) 18 February 1984 (age 40) 59 0 Spain Espanyol
16 1GK Souleymanou Hamidou (1973-11-22) 22 November 1973 (age 50) 20 0 Turkey Kayserispor
22 1GK Guy N'dy Assembé (1986-02-28) 28 February 1986 (age 38) 1 0 France Valenciennes
2 2DF Benoît Assou-Ekotto (1984-03-24) 24 March 1984 (age 40) 9 0 England Tottenham Hotspur
3 2DF Nicolas N'Koulou (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 34) 17 0 France Monaco
4 2DF Rigobert Song (1976-07-01) 1 July 1976 (age 48) 133 4 Turkey Trabzonspor
5 2DF Sébastien Bassong (1986-07-09) 9 July 1986 (age 38) 7 0 England Tottenham Hotspur
8 2DF Geremi Njitap (1978-12-20) 20 December 1978 (age 45) 109 12 Turkey Ankaragücü
12 2DF Gaëtan Bong (1988-04-25) 25 April 1988 (age 36) 2 0 France Valenciennes
14 2DF Aurélien Chedjou (1985-06-20) 20 June 1985 (age 39) 10 0 France Lille
19 2DF Stephane Mbia (1986-05-20) 20 May 1986 (age 38) 31 3 France Marseille
6 3MF Alexandre Song (1987-09-09) 9 September 1987 (age 36) 23 0 England Arsenal
7 3MF Landry N'Guémo (1985-11-28) 28 November 1985 (age 38) 20 2 Scotland Celtic
10 3MF Achille Emana (1982-06-05) 5 June 1982 (age 42) 35 6 Spain Real Betis
11 3MF Jean Makoun (1983-05-29) 29 May 1983 (age 41) 50 3 France Lyon
18 3MF Eyong Enoh (1986-03-23) 23 March 1986 (age 38) 14 1 Netherlands Ajax
20 3MF Georges Mandjeck (1988-12-09) 9 December 1988 (age 35) 8 0 Germany Kaiserslautern
21 3MF Joel Matip (1991-08-08) 8 August 1991 (age 33) 4 0 Germany Schalke 04
9 4FW Samuel Eto'o (C) (1981-03-10) 10 March 1981 (age 43) 96 43 Italy Internazionale
13 4FW Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 (age 35) 2 1 Germany Nuremberg
15 4FW Pierre Webó (1982-01-20) 20 January 1982 (age 42) 43 16 Spain Mallorca
17 4FW Mohammadou Idrissou (1980-03-08) 8 March 1980 (age 44) 31 6 Germany Freiburg
23 4FW Vincent Aboubakar (1992-01-22) 22 January 1992 (age 32) 2 0 France Valenciennes

Managers

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Since 1992, squads for Football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the international team.
  2. ^ ""Top Cards - France 1998"". fifa.com. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  3. ^ "Fifa bans Cameroon shirts". BBC Sport. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  4. ^ "Indomitable Lions roar through to record sixth finals". ESPN. 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
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