Cameroon national football team

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Cameroon
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Les Lions Indomptables
(The Indomitable Lions)
Association Fédération Camerounaise de Football
Sub-confederation UNIFFAC
(Central Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Alexandre Belinga (caretaker)
Captain Stéphane Mbia
Most caps Rigobert Song (137)
Top scorer Samuel Eto'o (56)
Home stadium Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo
FIFA code CMR
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 51 Decrease 3 (5 November 2015)
Highest 11 (November 2006)
Lowest 79 (February 2013)
First international
 Belgian Congo 3–2 French Cameroon
(Belgian Congo; September 1956)
World Cup
Appearances 7 (First in 1982)
Best result Quarter-final: 1990
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 16 (First in 1970)
Best result Champions: 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002
Confederations Cup
Appearances 2 (First in 2001)
Best result Runners-up: 2003
File:Football Cameroun maillot.svg
Lions Indomptables former crest

The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed in French Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions), is the national team of Cameroon. It is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and has qualified seven times for the FIFA World Cup, more than any other African team (in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014). However, the team has only made it once out of the group stage. 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.

History

First games

Cameroon played its first match against Belgian Congo in 1956, losing 3–2. 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 after being knocked out by their neighbours and future champions Congo in the 1972 Africa Cup of Nations. They would not qualify for the competition for another ten years.

FIFA 1982 World Cup – the first time

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- future winners, 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.

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.

FIFA 1990 World Cup – Quarter Finals

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 it 3–2 for England with a penalty in the 105th minute. The team was coached by Russian manager and former player Valeri Nepomniachi.

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. The team was coached by French born Henri Michel.

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 led 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] It was also during this tournament that a certain Samuel Eto'o was exposed to Cameroonians. He was the youngest player of the tournament alongside Michael Owen of England. The team was coached by French born Claude Le Roy.

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.

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 when Pierre Wome Nleng failed to convert a late penalty. 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 loss to Togo, the coach of Cameroon, Otto Pfister, resigned. Frenchman Paul Le Guen was appointed as the new coach after a draw against Morocco. 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.

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.

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.

World Cup record

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Main article: Cameroon at the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
Chile 1962		 Did Not Enter
England 1966 Withdrew
Mexico 1970 to
Argentina 1978		 Did Not Enter
Spain 1982 Group Stage 17th 3 0 3 0 1 1
Mexico 1986 Did Not Qualify
Italy 1990 Quarter-Finals 7th 5 3 0 2 7 9
United States 1994 Group Stage 22nd 3 0 1 2 3 11
France 1998 25th 3 0 2 1 2 5
South Korea Japan 2002 20th 3 1 1 1 2 3
Germany 2006 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 2010 Group Stage 31st 3 0 0 3 2 5
Brazil 2014 32nd 3 0 0 3 1 9
Russia 2018 To Be Determined
Qatar 2022
Total Quarter-Final 7/20 23 4 7 12 18 43

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did Not Qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999
South Korea Japan 2001 Group Stage 6th 3 1 0 2 2 4 Squad
France 2003 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 3 1 Squad
Germany 2005 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 2009
Brazil 2013
Russia 2017 To Be Determined
Qatar 2021
Total Runners-up 2/9 8 4 1 3 5 5 -

Africa Cup of Nations record

Host nation(s) / Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Sudan 1957
to
Tunisia 1965		 Did Not Enter
Ethiopia 1968 Did Not Qualify
Sudan 1970 Group Stage 5th 3 2 0 1 7 5
Cameroon 1972 Third Place 3rd 5 3 1 1 10 5
Egypt 1974
to
Nigeria 1980		 Did Not Qualify
Libya 1982 Group Stage 5th 3 0 3 0 1 1
Ivory Coast 1984 Champions 1st 5 3 1 1 9 3
Egypt 1986 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 2 0 8 5
Morocco 1988 Champions 1st 5 3 2 0 4 1
Algeria 1990 Group Stage 5th 3 1 0 2 2 3
Senegal 1992 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 2 1 4 3
Tunisia 1994 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 1996 Group Stage 9th 3 1 1 1 5 7
Burkina Faso 1998 Quarter-Finals 8th 4 2 1 1 5 4
GhanaNigeria 2000 Champions 1st 6 3 2 1 11 5
Mali 2002 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 9 0
Tunisia 2004 Quarter-Finals 6th 4 1 2 1 7 6
Egypt 2006 Quarter-Finals 5th 4 3 1 0 8 2
Ghana 2008 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 14 8
Angola 2010 Quarter-Finals 7th 4 1 1 2 6 8
GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 2013
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 2 3
Gabon 2017 To Be Determined
Cameroon 2019 Qualified as host
Ivory Coast 2021 To Be Determined
Guinea 2023
Total 4 Titles 16/29 71 37 20 14 110 67
*Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Summer Olympics

Olympic Games Record
Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1900
to
Italy 1960		 Did not enter
Japan 1964
to
West Germany 1972		 Did not qualify
Canada 1976 Did not enter
Soviet Union 1980 Did not qualify
United States 1984 Round 1 11th 3 1 0 2 3 5
South Korea 1988 Did not qualify
Total — 1/19 3 1 0 2 3 5
Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.

Recent results and fixtures

      Win       Draw       Lose

2015

Players

Current squad

The following 25 players were called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Niger on 13 and 17 November 2015.[4]
Caps and goals updated as of 13 November 2015 after the match against Niger.[5]

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Idriss Carlos Kameni (1984-02-18) 18 February 1984 (age 40) 70 0 Spain Málaga
1GK Fabrice Ondoa (1995-12-24) 24 December 1995 (age 28) 16 0 Spain Barcelona B
1GK Guy N'dy Assembé (1986-02-28) 28 February 1986 (age 38) 15 0 France Nancy
2DF Nicolas Nkoulou (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 34) 66 0 France Marseille
2DF Henri Bedimo (1984-06-04) 4 June 1984 (age 39) 48 1 France Lyon
2DF Aurélien Chedjou (1985-06-20) 20 June 1985 (age 38) 41 1 Turkey Galatasaray
2DF Sébastien Bassong (1986-07-09) 9 July 1986 (age 37) 18 0 England Norwich City
2DF Ambroise Oyongo (1991-06-22) 22 June 1991 (age 32) 14 1 Canada Montreal Impact
2DF Kombi Mandjang (1992-06-01) 1 June 1992 (age 31) 5 0 Cameroon Union Douala
3MF Stéphane Mbia (Captain) (1986-05-20) 20 May 1986 (age 37) 65 5 Turkey Trabzonspor
3MF Edgar Salli (1992-08-17) 17 August 1992 (age 31) 24 2 Switzerland St. Gallen
3MF Raoul Loé (1989-01-31) 31 January 1989 (age 35) 12 0 Qatar Al-Sailiya
3MF Franck Kom (1991-09-18) 18 September 1991 (age 32) 10 0 Tunisia Étoile du Sahel
4FW Vincent Aboubakar (1992-01-22) 22 January 1992 (age 32) 42 12 Portugal Porto
4FW Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 (age 35) 40 12 Germany Schalke 04
4FW Benjamin Moukandjo (1988-11-12) 12 November 1988 (age 35) 35 4 France Lorient
4FW Léonard Kweuke (1987-07-12) 12 July 1987 (age 36) 24 3 Turkey Çaykur Rizespor
4FW Clinton N'Jie (1993-08-15) 15 August 1993 (age 30) 13 6 England Tottenham Hotspur
4FW Fabrice Olinga (1996-05-12) 12 May 1996 (age 27) 8 1 Belgium Mouscron-Péruwelz
4FW Aboubakar Oumarou (1987-01-04) 4 January 1987 (age 37) 3 0 Serbia Partizan
4FW Sébastien Siani (1986-12-21) 21 December 1986 (age 37) 2 0 Belgium Oostende

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Cameroon's squad within the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK André Onana (1996-04-02) 2 April 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Netherlands Ajax v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
GK Pierre Sylvain Abogo (1993-07-18) 18 July 1993 (age 30) 0 0 Cameroon Canon Sportif v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF Joël Matip (1991-08-08) 8 August 1991 (age 32) 27 1 Germany Schalke 04 v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 INJ
DF Allan Nyom (1988-05-10) 10 May 1988 (age 35) 11 0 England Watford v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 INJ
DF Marvin Matip (1985-09-25) 25 September 1985 (age 38) 1 0 Germany FC Ingolstadt v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 INJ
DF Collins Fai (1992-08-13) 13 August 1992 (age 31) 1 0 Romania Dinamo București v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
DF Jérôme Guihoata (1994-10-07) 7 October 1994 (age 29) 12 0 France Nîmes v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF Ngweni Ndassi (1996-07-12) 12 July 1996 (age 27) 4 1 Cameroon Njala Quan SA v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF Banana Yaya (1991-07-21) 21 July 1991 (age 32) 2 0 Greece Platanias v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF Frank Bagnack (1995-06-07) 7 June 1995 (age 28) 2 0 Spain Barcelona B v.  Thailand, 30 March 2015
DF Moussa Bana (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 (age 26) 0 0 Cameroon Coton Sport v.  Thailand, 30 March 2015
DF Cédric Djeugoué (1992-08-28) 28 August 1992 (age 31) 7 0 Morocco IR Tanger 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Brice N'Late (1996-10-06) 6 October 1996 (age 27) 0 0 France Marseille 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary squad
MF Eyong Enoh (1986-03-23) 23 March 1986 (age 38) 53 2 Belgium Standard Liège v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 INJ
MF Tony Tchani (1989-04-13) 13 April 1989 (age 35) 0 0 United States Columbus Crew v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 INJ
MF Dani Ndi (1995-08-18) 18 August 1995 (age 28) 4 0 Spain Sporting Gijón v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
MF Félix Eboa Eboa (1997-04-19) 19 April 1997 (age 26) 1 0 France Paris Saint-Germain v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
MF Guy Zock Abep (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 (age 29) 3 0 Cameroon Cosmos de Bafia v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
MF Georges Mandjeck (1988-12-09) 9 December 1988 (age 35) 27 0 France Metz 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Patrick Ekeng (1990-03-26) 26 March 1990 (age 34) 2 0 Free agent 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Jacques Zoua (1991-09-06) 6 September 1991 (age 32) 10 0 France Gazélec Ajaccio v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
FW Karl Toko Ekambi (1992-09-14) 14 September 1992 (age 31) 3 0 France Sochaux v.  Gambia, 6 September 2015
FW Franck Etoundi (1990-08-30) 30 August 1990 (age 33) 12 1 Switzerland Zürich v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
FW Justin Mengolo (1993-06-24) 24 June 1993 (age 30) 2 0 Free agent v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015

|} INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury RET Retired from international football

Records

Caps and goals updated as of November 13, 2015.

Managers

Dates Name
1960-65 technical committee
1965-70 France Dominique Colonna
1970 Cameroon Raymond Fobete
1970-73 Germany Peter Schnittger
1973-75 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vladimir Beara
1976-79 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ivan Ridanović
1980-82 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Branko Zutić
1982 France Jean Vincent
1982-84 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Radivoje Ognjanović
1985-88 France Claude Le Roy
1988-90 Soviet Union Valery Nepomnyashchy
1990-93 France Philippe Redon
Dates Name
1993-94 Cameroon Jean Manga-Onguéné
1994 Cameroon Léonard Nseké
1994 France Henri Michel
1994-96 Cameroon Jules Nyongha
1996-97 Belgium Henri Depireux
1997-98 Cameroon Jean Manga-Onguéné
1998 France Claude Le Roy
1998-2001 France Pierre Lechantre
2001 France Robert Corfou
2001 Cameroon Jean-Paul Akono
2001-04 Germany Winfried Schäfer
2004-06 Portugal Artur Jorge
Dates Name
2006-07 Netherlands Arie Haan
2007 Cameroon Jules Nyongha
2007-09 Germany Otto Pfister
2009 Cameroon Thomas N'Kono
2009-10 France Paul Le Guen
2010-11 Spain Javier Clemente
2011-12 France Denis Lavagne
2012-13 Cameroon Jean-Paul Akono
2013-15 Germany Volker Finke
2015 (caretaker) Cameroon Alexandre Belinga

See also

References

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External links

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Template:2002 FIFA World Cup finalists

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