World Cup 2010 Previews: Cameroon

"Eez okay, folks, I 'ave zeez stuff underr control" – Le Guen

Nicknames: Les Lions Indomitables (The Indomitable Lions)
Coach: Paul Le Guen

We remember them for Roger Milla, that corner-flag dancing, gap-toothed striker who tip-toed past Rene Higuita in the sweltering Italian summer sun. We remember his brace against Romania; not an “F-U” Brace, mind you, as that was never Milla’s style. Too happy to be acerbic, too wrapped up in the joy of the moment to express such visceral rage.

We recall his super-sub appearance against England in the quarter-finals, emerging with his team 1-0 to put them within an inch of the semis.

Sure, their indiscipline gave the Three Lions two penalties — one 7 minutes from time, the other deep into extra-time — to ensure their safe passage, but considering that we also remember how brusque their tackling was throughout that tournament (the Benjamin Massing hack-job on Claudio Canniggia in the Group B opener presaged everything), we remember being unsurprised.

In 2010, the same defensive frailties remain, but Milla’s raw delight has been replaced over time by the quiet passion of Samuel Eto’o, another ambassador for the game yet one who’s achieved more than Milla ever could. It’s on his shoulders that their tournament hopes rest. Yet again.

The 30-man provisional squad selected by Paul Le Guen:
GK -
Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor), Carlos Kameni (Espanyol), Guy Roland Ndy Assembe (Valenciennes), Amour Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic)

DF -
Jean Patrick Abouna Ndzana (Astres de Douala), Benoît Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham), Sébastien Bassong (Tottenham), Gaëtan Bong (Valenciennes), Aurélien Chedjou (Lille), Geremi Njitap (Ankaragucu), Stéphane Mbia (Marseille), Makadji Boukar (Al Nahdha), Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco), Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)

MF -
Marcel Ndjeng (Augsburg), Eyong Enoh (Ajax), Jean II Makoun (Lyon), Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern), Joël Matip (Schalke), Patrick Mevoungou (Canon Sportif de Yaoundé), Landry Nguémo (Celtic), Alexandre Song (Arsenal)

FW -
Vincent Aboubakar (Coton Sport), Eric Choupo-Moting (Nürnberg), Achille Emana (Betis), Samuel Eto’o (Internazionale), Mohamadou Idrissou (Freiburg), Dorge Kouemaha (Club Brugge), Achille Webó (Mallorca), Jacques Zoua (FC Basel)

Players omitted:
There aren’t too many massive shocks for the Lions, though some expressed surprise at the omission of midfielder Daniel Ngom Kome, who featured in two games at the 2002 World Cup and featured in 10 qualifying games for this year’s tournament. Despite winning a first-team spot at Tenerife, he’s skipped in favor of young midfielder Joel Matip. As far as cuts go, young striker Jacques Zoua suffered a hamstring injury in training camp and has been released from the squad.

Projected Starting XI:
(4-3-3) – Kameni – Geremi, Nkoulou, Song/Bassong/Chedjou (tough call as Song had a dreadful ACoN), Assou-Ekotto – Makoun, Song, N’Guemo – Webo, Eto’o, Emana

World Cup 2010 Fixtures:
Japan v. Cameroon – June 14, 10a ET – Mangaung/Bloemfontein
Cameroon v. Denmark – June 19, 2.30p ET – Tshwane/Pretoria
Cameroon v. Netherlands – June 24, 2.30p ET – Cape Town

Home base in South Africa:
The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Village, a little ‘burg on the ocean front not far from Durban.

History in World Cup competition:
Like the rest of the African continent, Cameroon withdrew from 1966 qualifying in protest at FIFA’s efforts to ignore their cause; just one qualifying spot was open to African teams, and even then, the African champ had to enter a play-off with either the Asian or Oceanic champ in order to actually make it to the World Cup. As such, they declined to jump through the hoops, and so it’d be another 16 years until Cameroon made their debut.

In 1982, as with 1994, 1998, and 2002, they exited in the first round, though not with the kind of record one expects; instead of several heavy defeats, their combined record was 1 win, 7 draws, and 5 defeats. Not bad, but certainly not good enough to advance (their -12 goal difference didn’t help either).

1990, as described above, was their shining moment. Opening the tournament by knocking off the defending champs in a bitter, brusque, and violent contest was their statement of intent; they rode it to a follow-up win over a Hagi-led Romania before their ruse ended with a 4-0 defeat to the Soviet Union.

Not to worry, though; topping the group saw them take on Colombia in the Round of 16. A cagey affair, to say the least, and, as with all Cameroon games that year, the fun didn’t begin until Milla took the stage. 0-0 heading into extra time, the super sub killed off the game alone with a brace (cue more corner flag shuffle); his first goal was simple enough, but the second, a true delight. With eccentric Rene Higuita in goal for Colombia, there was always the chance of theatrics (see: scorpion kick v. England, 1995) and in the 108th minute, Higuita took a dribble upfield to “join” the attack. Some 15 yards outside his area, Milla nipped in to dispossess the leaden-footed shot stopper, walking it into an empty net despite Higuita’s best efforts to rectify his error (a savage slide tackle from behind that nearly clipped the Cameroonian).

Colombia pulled one back, but too little, too late, and the Lions became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals (Senegal would do it in 2002). There, they gave England a scare but lost 3-2. Milla played in the 1994 tournament at age 42 before retiring a legend.

How they got here:
The tiered nature of CAF qualifying yielded two qualifying groups for Cameroon and the rest to battle through, and the Lions made it without breaking sweat – 5 wins and a draw in their first round against Mauritius, Cape Verde (who just held Portugal 0-0), and Tanzania. Then, 4-1-1 in a group against Togo, Gabon, and Morocco to cruise into the tournament.

Samuel Eto’o led the way with 9 goals in 11 games, nearly half the team’s tally in qualifying. Impressive.

Team style:
French manager Paul Le Guen was always a fan of the standard 4-4-2 at previous gigs helming PSG, Lyon, and Rangers, but the Cameroon team has, in their abundance of wide and attacking talent, given him the chance to stretch out a little and spread the play with a 4-3-3. It was used to mixed effect in the ACoN, and depends heavily on the midfield triumvirate of Landry N’Guemo, Alex Song, and Jean Il Makoun to lock things down. Samuel Eto’o will be back as the point man compared to his wide play for Internazionale, though Le Guen will no doubt see his effort in Serie A as promising; after all, his decoy play wide helped Milito earn enough space to score plenty of goals, so we may even see Eto’o pushed wide in a front three to achieve the same basic effect.

As with most African teams, the real damage is done on the quick counter. Geremi, despite his age, still loves to bomb up and down the flanks to support the attack, and I don’t expect the ball to get stuck in midfield for too long. It’s all about the front three spreading the opposing backline and creating space for Makoun, Song, and N’Guemo to exploit.

Nice new home shirt, lads

Recent form:
Two games in 2010 since their difficult ACoN run (1-1-1 to squeak out of the group via tie-breaker, then a 3-1 AET defeat to Egypt in the quarter-finals), and both of them 0-0 draws. Their competition — Italy and Georgia — doesn’t tell us much. Improved defense is a plus, but the reliance on Eto’o for goals is becoming a problem.

Media musings:
ESPN.com rates them as the standard “don’t overlook/underestimate them”, which is standard for the unquantifiable, erratic brilliance of the African teams. Home continent favors them slightly, leading chief number-cruncher Nate Silver to give them 2nd place in the group by a slim margin; they have a 52% chance of advancing compared to Denmark’s 46%.

The (chuckle) Bleacher Report reckons they’ll advance, but they also think the Dutch will not, so take it with a truck full of salt. Goal.com has this bizarre feature where natives of all the countries at the WC made their predictions in each group, so obviously everyone has optimism for their country and picks them to do well. It’s barely comprehensible, but hey, their man from Yaounde thinks they’ll get 2 wins and a draw. Of course, everyone else does that too (except for the Japanese guy who goes with 1-1-1. He must hate himself.)

Thanks for nothing, Goal.com! SI.com hedges its bet by saying the same kind of, ooh, they could do well but will they? stuff that everyone else has…. though this guy from the KC Star says “quarterfinals”, exactly the kind of firm prediction we were hoping for.

Key players:
Samuel Eto’o, ST/RW/LW – Internazionale
Is there any other team in the tournament so reliant upon one guy to provide their attacking spark? (Note: say “England” and I will kill you) It all channels through Eto’o, who flirts so regularly between sullenness and greatness at club level that one might expect the same bi-polar behavior in the World Cup. Case in point: if they lose their first game, will Eto’o care enough to swing momentum back around?

When on form, he’s lethal, as shown in his last season with Barca (34 in 43 games in 2008/09), but he’s shown enough of the selfishness and petulance in that time to get run out of town. Now, at Inter, he appears a changed man; Eto’o has shown the maturity of a player asked to go above and beyond the rigors of scoring all the goals. He can support, provide, assist. Play wide? No problem! Play right-side of midfield in a more defensive role? Sure, anything you say! Play wide up the pitch to give Milito more opportunities to dazzle? Captain, my captain, I’m there!

Back at international level, Le Guen will demand him to be the fulcrum once more. Can he get it done? Will the supporting cast make it possible?

Alex Song, CDM – Arsenal
Any of the expected midfield three are considered key, but Song’s boundless energy and vastly-improved reading of the game makes him the central anchor off which N’Guemo, Makoun, and Enoh can thrive. Just don’t waste him at CB, eh Paul? The midfield is a minefield with Song on the prowl.

Achille Emana, CAM/FW – Real Betis
Though his immense talents have been wasted in the Segunda Division this season, I expect him to shine as the wild-card in the attacking third. While Idrissou is a more conventional frontman, Emana’s versatility in wide midfield or wide attacking areas makes him a much harder threat to contain. A strong on-the-ball runner with a thunderous long-range shot, he’s one to watch. Had a competent ACoN despite being criminally underused.

Nicolas N’Koulou, CB – AS Monaco
Sooner or later Rigobert Song has to step aside, and when he does (might even be at the WC), there’s pedigree behind him. N’Koulou, along with Spurs’ Bassong and fellow Ligue I defender Aurelien Chedjou, will be under immense pressure this summer, but the 20-year-old looks every part the complete package. Played well at the ACoN, actually supplanting Song from the lineup, and looks set to demonstrate his poise and power against all comers in South Africa.

Question marks:
It’ll all come back to that defending. In a difficult group with the free-form Dutch and methodical, wickedly talented Danes (sorry, Takeshi Okada… forget the chances of your “android football“), they’ll be doing an awful lot of defending.

UF Prediction:
They are easily the most frustrating team in this Group. Boundless talent, but prone to hoofing it and hoping when Plan A fails. Still, I think their youth and speed will topple the Danes, reliant as they can be on Tomasson and Rommedahl for inspiration, and they’ll smash the Japanese en route to the knockout stages.

Assuming they face Italy in the Round of 16, they could spring an upset there as the Azzurri rely on veteran experience more than anyone else in the tournament. F**k it. Book the Lions to match their 1990 quarter-final run. I reckon Eto’o does keep his cool and the marauding midfield makes like difficult for any opponent to assert themselves fully.