Cameroon national football 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, as well as the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics^[1].

History

Cameroon played its first match against Somalia 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 3–1with 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. Before the start of the World Cup, Cameroon ran into controversy sporting Puma sleeveless kits which they wore in the 2002 African Cup of Nations. FIFA immediately declared the kits illegal and black sleeves were added. 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 Gabon, Togo, and the Morrocan national football teams. After a slow start in their campaign, with a shocking loss to Togo, and drawing Morroco, the coach of Cameroon, Otto Pfister was fired and Frenchman Paul Le Guen was appointed to be 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 Morroco 2-0 in Fez in their last match of their campaign. Gabon would also be defeated by Togo 1-0 in Lome. Both results caused Cameroon to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.^[4] Ma se mof, hos cawa ninja snd Jack Parow

Honours and achievements

Lions Indomptables former crest

Olympic Games :

• 1 Time Gold Medalist (2000)

African Cup of Nations :

• 4 Time Champion (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002)

All-Africa Games :

• 4 Time Champion (1991, 1999, 2003, 2007)

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations :

• 1 Time Champion (1985)

CEMAC Cup :

• 2 Times Champion (2003, 2005)
• 1 Time Runners-up

Central African Games :

• 2 Times Champion (1976, 1987)

UDEAC Championship :

• 4 Times Champion (1984, 1986, 1987, 1989)
• 1 Time Runners-up

• African Youth Championship: 1
  

1995

• African Under-17 Championship: 1
  

2003

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
Total	5/18		17	4	7	6	15	29

Confederations Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1hujkj992 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 hj

African Nations Cup record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 4 Appearances: 16
Year	Position		Year	Position		Year	Position
1957	Did not enter		1976	Did not qualify		1994	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

Current squad

Final 23 men squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Idriss Carlos Kameni 18 February 1984 (1984-02-18) (age 26) 58 0 Espanyol 16 GK Souleymanou Hamidou 22 November 1973 (1973-11-22) (age 36) 40 0 Kayserispor 22 GK Guy N'dy Assembé 28 February 1986 (1986-02-28) (age 24) 1 0 Valenciennes 3 DF Nicolas N'Koulou 27 March 1990 (1990-03-27) (age 20) 6 0 Monaco 4 DF Rigobert Song 1 July 1976 (1976-07-01) (age 33) 133 5 Trabzonspor 8 DF Geremi Njitap 20 December 1978 (1978-12-20) (age 31) 109 12 Ankaragücü 2 DF Benoît Assou-Ekotto 24 March 1984 (1984-03-24) (age 26) 4 0 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 5 DF Sébastien Bassong 9 July 1986 (1986-07-09) (age 23) 3 0 Tottenham Hotspur F.C DF Gaëtan Bong 25 April 1988 (1988-04-25) (age 22) 0 0 Valenciennes DF Aurélien Chedjou 20 June 1985 (1985-06-20) (age 24) 8 0 Lille 19 DF Stephane Mbia 20 May 1986 (1986-05-20) (age 24) 29 3 Marseille 18 MF Eyong Enoh 23 March 1986 (1986-03-23) (age 24) 12 1 Ajax 11 MF Jean Makoun 29 May 1983 (1983-05-29) (age 27) 49 3 Lyon 20 MF Georges Mandjeck 9 December 1988 (1988-12-09) (age 21) 4 1 Kaiserslautern 21 MF Joel Matip 8 August 1991 (1991-08-08) (age 18) 1 0 Schalke 04 6 MF Alexandre Song 9 September 1987 (1987-09-09) (age 22) 20 0 Arsenal 7 MF Landry N'Guémo 28 November 1985 (1985-11-28) (age 24) 17 2 Celtic 10 MF Achille Emana 5 June 1982 (1982-06-05) (age 27) 32 6 Real Betis 23 FW Vincent Aboubakar 22 January 1992 (1992-01-22) (age 18) 0 0 Cotonsport Garoua 9 FW Samuel Eto'o (C) 10 March 1981 (1981-03-10) (age 29) 92 43 Internazionale FW Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 23 March 1989 (1989-03-23) (age 21) 0 0 Nuremberg 17 FW Mohammadou Idrissou 8 March 1980 (1980-03-08) (age 30) 28 9 Freiburg 15 FW Pierre Webó 20 January 1982 (1982-01-20) (age 28) 39 13 Mallorca

Recent call-ups

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Joslain Mayebi 14 October 1986 (1986-10-14) (age 23) 0 0 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth DF Gilles Binya 29 August 1984 (1984-08-29) (age 25) 14 1 Neuchâtel Xamax DF Henri Bedimo 4 June 1984 (1984-06-04) (age 25) 6 0 Lens DF Armand Deumi 12 March 1979 (1979-03-12) (age 31) 4 0 Gaziantepspor DF Pierre Womé 26 April 1979 (1979-04-26) (age 31) 67 5 Köln DF Timothée Atouba 17 February 1982 (1982-02-17) (age 28) 42 0 Ajax DF André Bikey 8 January 1985 (1985-01-08) (age 25) 24 1 Burnley MF Daniel Ngom Kome 19 May 1982 (1982-05-19) (age 28) 35 2 Tenerife MF Somen Tchoyi 29 March 1983 (1983-03-29) (age 27) 14 2 Red Bull Salzburg FW Paul Alo'o Efoulou 12 November 1983 (1983-11-12) (age 26) 8 0 Nancy

Managers

• 1982 Jean Vincent & Branko Zutic
• 1988-90 Valeri Nepomniachi
• 1992 Philippe Redon
• 1992-93 Jules Nyongha
• 1994 Henri Michel
• 1994-96 Jules Nyongha
• 1996-97 Henri Depireux
• 1997-98 Jean Manga Onguene
• 1998 Claude Le Roy
• 1998-00 Pierre Lechantre
• 2000-01 Jean-Paul Akono
• 2001 Pierre Lechantre
• 2001 Robert Corfu
• 2001-04 Winfried Schäfer
• 2005-06 Artur Jorge
• 2006-07 Arie Haan
• 2007 Jules Nyongha
• 2007-09 Otto Pfister
• 2009 Thomas Nkono
• 2009- Paul Le Guen

See also

• Cameroon women's national football team

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. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/statistics/teams/topcards.html. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
3. ^ "Fifa bans Cameroon shirts". BBC Sport. 2002-03-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/1862872.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
4. ^ "Indomitable Lions roar through to record sixth finals". ESPN. 2009-11-14. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=262942&league=FIFA.WORLDQ.CAF&cc=5739. Retrieved 2010-02-04.

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