Cameroon has another opportunity to host next year’s edition of the African Cup of Nations after missing out on the previous edition in Egypt due to their organizational unreadiness.
Having won the trophy on five occasions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are the second most successful nation behind Egypt who has won seven. They impressively won their first four titles in the space of eighteen years (1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002) before winning their 5th title 15 years later in 2017.
In as much as they have won many of the titles, they have been big performers in the competition as well. Out of the thirteen times they failed to win the trophy, the African giants have been in the finals on two occasions, losing both ties to Egypt in 1986 and 2008 respectively when it was hosted in Ghana.
In their second appearance in the AFCON tournament, Cameroon hosted the 1972 edition and finished third behind Mali and Congo. They also ended the Senegal 1992 AFCON competition as the fourth-best team after failing to beat the eventual winners, Ivory Coast in the semifinal.
Their worst performance has been on five occasions where Cameroon failed to qualify beyond the group stages.
The indomitable Lions have produced a number of talents who have played at the highest level in football. Samuel Eto’o Fils( Cameroon’s all-time top goalscorer with 56 goals), Roger Miller, Rigobert Song(The most capped player with 137 appearances), Alexander Song, Joel Matip among others are a few of the big names that are credited to have carved a good footballing image for Cameroon.
In next year’s tournament, the Cameroonians might not be represented with the usual star-studded squad they are known for but the likes of Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Andre Onana and Olympique Lyonnais striker Karl Toko Ekambi are all available in their quest to win their sixth title and go a step closer to Egypt’s achievements.
Former player, legend and arguably Africa’s greatest player of all time, Samuel Eto’o has recently been elected as the president of the Cameroon football federation and that could simply be a factor to motivate the former champions to win the jackpot on home soil.
They would have to go past Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A in order to qualify to the next stage.
Are the Indomitable Lions going to be tamed by their potential prey or they would roar with impact again?
Appearances so far: 18
Best Results: Champions in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and 2017
Worst performance: Group stage (1970, 1982, 1990, 1996 and 2015)
Head Coach: Toni Connceicao
Most capped player: Rigobert Song (137 appearances)
Captain: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Top scorer: Samuel Eto’o Fils(56 goals in 118 appearances)
Player to watch: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Source: Ghana/starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/ Frank Appiah2
