Cameroon Camp Focus - Lions less indomitable without Eto'o
The upcoming selections for Cameroon Coach Paul Le Guen will no doubt be tricky as he chips away at his provisional 30, but a hamstring injury to FC Basel forward Jacques Zoua looks to have forced Le Guen’s hand.
While it was arguable whether Zoua would have made the final cut for the World Cup, the 18-year-old forward was tipped to get his first cap for the senior side hopefully making a name for himself in South Africa. The Basel forward has enjoyed a decent season in Switzerland breaking through slowly but was injured in their last game of the Swiss Super League season. Zoua’s short-lived promotion from the U-20 side will now force him to watch his nation’s World Cup campaign from home.
André Bikey stated this week that Inter forward and three-time European champion Samuel Eto’o will be the man the rest of the nation looks to: "Samuel is not just important for the team, he is important for everyone.” Eto’o’s responsibility is indeed burdensome and while he is more than capable of leading his team, the question now remains of who will be the man to partner the prolific three-time African Player of the Year, the most likely candidate being Mohammadou Idrissou. The tall and powerful forward has notched 27 caps for the Lions along with nine goals and is sure to add to his tally of international appearances this summer. Alongside Eto’o we could see a partnership combination of power, pace and skill. The SC Freiburg hit-man has found steady employment in Germany, scoring 21 goals since joining Breisgau-Brasilianer. Idrissou’s most significant contribution to the national side came in the 2010 African Cup of Nations against Zambia, coming off the bench to score the winning goal.
Cameroon’s constant predicament of a second striker looks to be solved with the inclusion of Idrissou, but the lofty striker’s selection is more out of necessity rather than choice as the other forwards lack the international experience or are based in lower quality leagues, with the exception of Pierre Webó. The Mallorca striker is another likely choice for the Coach and has netted a hat-trick in the past for Cameroon, also finding the back of the net frequently for his club. Le Guen’s 4-3-3 formation is unlikely to be tampered with, the Frenchman could change to a 4-5-1 and let Eto’o soldier on alone up-front but such a shake-up would signal clear little faith in his other forwards. Unless Le Guen has many surprises up his sleeve, the starting line-up will most likely place Idrissou next to Eto’o.
Meanwhile, the Indomitable Lions played out a goalless draw against Georgia in a World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday. The friendly displayed a lacklustre outing from Le Guen’s outfit who, without Eto’o, failed to test the opposition goalkeeper, the only chance coming from a shot on goal came from the young forward Dorge Kouemaha, not adding much to a terribly mundane game. Performances like Tuesday’s against Georgia do not instil the greatest amount of confidence in Cameroon fans. If the Lions are to carry on their hopes of progressing far in the World Cup, then the entire squad needs to shoulder responsibility instead of playing hot potato and simply looking to Eto’o, otherwise they risk another African Nations fiasco and face possible early elimination.
On Friday June 14, Cameroon will play their opening match against Japan in Bloemfontein, Le Guen has been in charge of the national side for just under a year, while he has not surprised many with this mostly predictable selection. His tenure as Cameroon Coach must show some signs of change and forward thinking. Le Guen’s side’s preparation is a necessity against other organised and dangerous opposition, the Netherlands and Denmark also wait in Group E and odds on Cameroon progressing farther than the group stages are not overwhelmingly positive. The Lions must start turning their shrill cries into roars and be ready to pounce claws first on to the world’s biggest football tournament.
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