Cameroon national football team

Cameroon

Nickname(s)	Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions)
Association	Fédération Camerounaise de Football
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Head coach	Hugo Broos
Captain	Stéphane Mbia
Most caps	Rigobert Song (137)
Top scorer	Samuel Eto'o (54)[1]
Home stadium	Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo
FIFA code	CMR
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	63 (5 May 2016)
Highest	11 (November 2006)
Lowest	79 (February 2013)
Elo ranking
Current	55 (31 March 2015)
Highest	12 (June 2003)
Lowest	76 (April 1995)
First international
Belgian Congo 3–2 French Cameroon (Belgian Congo; September 1956)
Biggest win
Cameroon 9–0 Chad  (DR Congo; April 1965)
Biggest defeat
Norway 6–1 Cameroon  (Oslo, Norway; 31 October 1990)  Russia 6–1 Cameroon  (Palo Alto, California, USA; 28 June 1994)  Costa Rica 5–0 Cameroon  (San José, Costa Rica; 9 March 1997)
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

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1962	Did Not Enter
1966	Withdrew
1970 to 1978	Did Not Enter
1982	Group Stage	17th	3	0	3	0	1	1
1986	Did Not Qualify
1990	Quarter-Finals	7th	5	3	0	2	7	9
1994	Group Stage	22nd	3	0	1	2	3	11
1998		25th	3	0	2	1	2	5
2002		20th	3	1	1	1	2	3
2006	Did Not Qualify
2010	Group Stage	31st	3	0	0	3	2	5
2014		32nd	3	0	0	3	1	9
2018	To Be Determined
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
1992	Did Not Qualify
1995
1997
1999
2001	Group Stage	6th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad
2003	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	3	1	Squad
2005	Did Not Qualify
2009
2013
2017	To Be Determined
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
1957 to 1965	Did Not Enter
1968	Did Not Qualify
1970	Group Stage	5th	3	2	0	1	7	5
1972	Third Place	3rd	5	3	1	1	10	5
1974 to 1980	Did Not Qualify
1982	Group Stage	5th	3	0	3	0	1	1
1984	Champions	1st	5	3	1	1	9	3
1986	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	2	0	8	5
1988	Champions	1st	5	3	2	0	4	1
1990	Group Stage	5th	3	1	0	2	2	3
1992	Fourth Place	4th	5	2	2	1	4	3
1994	Did Not Qualify
1996	Group Stage	9th	3	1	1	1	5	7
1998	Quarter-Finals	8th	4	2	1	1	5	4
2000	Champions	1st	6	3	2	1	11	5
2002	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	9	0
2004	Quarter-Finals	6th	4	1	2	1	7	6
2006	Quarter-Finals	5th	4	3	1	0	8	2
2008	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	0	2	14	8
2010	Quarter-Finals	7th	4	1	1	2	6	8
2012	Did Not Qualify
2013
2015	Group Stage	13th	3	0	2	1	2	3
2017	To Be Determined
2019	Qualified as host
2021	To Be Determined
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
1900 to 1960	Did not enter
1964 to 1972	Did not qualify
1976	Did not enter
1980	Did not qualify
1984	Round 1	11th	3	1	0	2	3	5
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

Cameroon  v DR Congo 

7 January 2015 Friendly	Cameroon	1–1	DR Congo	Yaoundé, Cameroon
14:30 UTC+0	Etoundi  37'	Report	Bolasie  90'	Stadium: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo

Mali  v Cameroon 

20 January 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Group Stage	Mali	1–1	Cameroon	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
19:00 UTC+0	S. Yatabaré  71'	Report	Oyongo  84'	Stadium: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

Cameroon  v Guinea 

24 January 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Group Stage	Cameroon	1–1	Guinea	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
19:00 UTC+0	Moukandjo  13'	Report	Traoré  42'	Stadium: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Tessema Bamlak (Ethiopia)

Cameroon  v Ivory Coast 

28 January 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Group Stage	Cameroon	0–1	Ivory Coast	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
18:00 UTC+0		Report	Gradel  35'	Stadium: Nuevo Estadio de Malabo Attendance: 15,230 Referee: Eric Otogo-Castane (Gabon)

Indonesia  v Cameroon 

25 March 2015 Friendly	Indonesia	0–1	Cameroon	Sidoarjo, Indonesia
17:00 UTC+7		Report	Aboubakar  35'	Stadium: Gelora Delta Putra Stadium

Thailand  v Cameroon 

30 March 2015 Friendly	Thailand	2–3	Cameroon	Bangkok, Thailand
19.00 UTC+8	Deeporm  15' Chedjou  33' (o.g.)	Report	Moukandjo  42' N'Jie  77' (pen.) Ndassi  88'	Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa on 26 and 29 March 2016.^[5]
Caps and goals updated as of 29 March 2016 after the match against South Africa.^[6]

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Fabrice Ondoa	24 December 1995	17	0	Gimnàstic de Tarragona
	GK	Guy N'dy Assembé	28 February 1986	16	0	Nancy
	GK	André Onana	2 April 1996	0	0	Ajax
	DF	Nicolas Nkoulou	27 March 1990	68	1	Marseille
	DF	Henri Bedimo	4 June 1984	51	1	Lyon
	DF	Aurélien Chedjou	20 June 1985	44	1	Galatasaray
	DF	Sébastien Bassong	9 July 1986	18	0	Norwich City
	DF	Allan Nyom	10 May 1988	13	0	Watford
	DF	Adolphe Teikeu	23 June 1990	1	0	Sochaux
	MF	Stéphane Mbia	20 May 1986	67	5	Hebei China Fortune
	MF	Landry N'Guémo	28 November 1985	42	3	Akhisar Belediyespor
	MF	Georges Mandjeck	9 December 1988	28	0	Metz
	MF	Franck Kom	18 September 1991	11	0	Étoile du Sahel
	MF	Jonathan Ngwen	20 July 1991	5	0	Unisport Bafang
	MF	Dani Ndi	18 August 1995	5	0	Sporting Gijón
	MF	Sébastien Siani	21 December 1986	5	1	Oostende
	MF	Marvin Matip	25 September 1985	3	0	FC Ingolstadt
	MF	Tony Tchani	13 April 1989	0	0	Columbus Crew
	FW	Vincent Aboubakar	22 January 1992	44	12	Porto
	FW	Edgar Salli	17 August 1992	27	2	St. Gallen
	FW	Jacques Zoua	6 September 1991	12	0	Gazélec Ajaccio
	FW	Karl Toko Ekambi	14 September 1992	3	0	Sochaux
	FW	Anatole Abang	6 July 1996	2	0	New York Red Bulls
	FW	Christian Bekamenga	9 May 1986	1	0	Metz

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	Idriss Carlos Kameni	18 February 1984	71	0	Málaga	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
GK	Pierre Sylvain Abogo	18 July 1993	0	0	Canon Sportif	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF	Ambroise Oyongo	22 June 1991	15	1	Montreal Impact	v.  South Africa, 26 March 2016 ^INJ
DF	Kombi Mandjang	1 June 1992	12	0	Union Douala	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
DF	Joël Matip	8 August 1991	27	1	Schalke 04	v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 ^INJ
DF	Collins Fai	13 August 1992	1	0	Dinamo București	v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
DF	Jérôme Guihoata	7 October 1994	12	0	Nîmes	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF	Ngweni Ndassi	12 July 1996	4	1	Njala Quan SA	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
DF	Banana Yaya	21 July 1991	2	0	Platanias	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
MF	Alex Song	9 September 1987	49	0	West Ham	v.  South Africa, 26 March 2016 ^DEC
MF	Raoul Loé	31 January 1989	12	0	Al-Sailiya	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
MF	Eyong Enoh	23 March 1986	53	2	Standard Liège	v.  Niger, 13 November 2015 ^INJ
MF	Félix Eboa Eboa	19 April 1997	1	0	Paris Saint-Germain	v.  Nigeria, 11 October 2015
MF	Guy Zock Abep	6 May 1994	3	0	Cosmos de Bafia	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
FW	Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting	23 March 1989	41	12	Schalke 04	v.  South Africa, 26 March 2016 ^INJ
FW	Benjamin Moukandjo	12 November 1988	36	4	Lorient	v.  South Africa, 26 March 2016 ^INJ
FW	Léonard Kweuke	12 July 1987	25	3	Çaykur Rizespor	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
FW	Clinton N'Jie	15 August 1993	14	6	Tottenham Hotspur	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
FW	Fabrice Olinga	12 May 1996	8	1	Mouscron-Péruwelz	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
FW	Aboubakar Oumarou	4 January 1987	3	0	Shenzhen	v.  Niger, 17 November 2015
FW	Franck Etoundi	30 August 1990	12	1	Zürich	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015
FW	Justin Mengolo	24 June 1993	2	0	Levski Sofia	v.  Mauritania, 14 June 2015

^DEC Player declined the call-up to the squad
^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
^RET Retired from international football

In addition, the squad that participated in the 2016 African Nations Championship (which features only players registered with clubs in Cameroon, but matches count as full internationals) included several players not listed above.

Records

Caps and goals updated as of March 29, 2016.

Most caps # Name Career Caps Goals 1 Rigobert Song 1993–2010 137 5 2 Samuel Eto'o 1997–2014 118 54[1] 3 Geremi Njitap 1996–2010 118 13 4 Idriss Carlos Kameni 2001– 71 0 5 Pierre Womé 1995–2012 68 1 = Jean Makoun 2003–2014 68 5 = Nicolas N'Koulou 2008– 68 1 8 Emmanuel Kundé 1980–1992 66 8 = Thomas N'Kono 1975–1990 66 0 = Stéphane Mbia 2006– 66 5

Top goalscorers # Player Career Goals Caps 1 Samuel Eto'o 1997–2014 54[1] 118 2 Roger Milla 1976–1994 37 63 3 Patrick M'Boma 1995–2004 33 57 4 François Omam-Biyik 1985–1998 25 63 5 Pierre Webo 2003–2014 19 59 6 Geremi Njitap 1996–2010 13 118 = Alphonse Tchami 1992–1998 13 37 8 Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 2010– 12 41 = Vincent Aboubakar 2010– 12 43 10 André Kana-Biyik 1985–1994 11 41

Managers

Dates Name 1960–1965 technical committee 1965–1970 Dominique Colonna 1970 Raymond Fobete 1970–1973 Peter Schnittger 1973–1975 Vladimir Beara 1976–1979 Ivan Ridanović 1980–1982 Branko Zutić 1982 Jean Vincent 1982–1984 Radivoje Ognjanović 1985–1988 Claude Le Roy 1988–1990 Valery Nepomnyashchy 1990–1993 Philippe Redon

Dates Name 1993–1994 Jean Manga-Onguéné 1994 Léonard Nseké 1994 Henri Michel 1994–1996 Jules Nyongha 1996–1997 Henri Depireux 1997–1998 Jean Manga-Onguéné 1998 Claude Le Roy 1998–2001 Pierre Lechantre 2001 Robert Corfou 2001 Jean-Paul Akono 2001–2004 Winfried Schäfer 2004–2006 Artur Jorge

Dates Name 2006–2007 Arie Haan 2007 Jules Nyongha 2007–2009 Otto Pfister 2009 Thomas N'Kono 2009–2010 Paul Le Guen 2010–2011 Javier Clemente 2011–2012 Denis Lavagne 2012–2013 Jean-Paul Akono 2013–2015 Volker Finke 2015–2016 (caretaker) Alexandre Belinga 2016– Hugo Broos

See also

• Cameroon women's national football team

References

1. "9 Samuel ETOO". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
2. "Top Cards – France 1998". fifa.com. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
3. "Indomitable Lions roar through to record sixth finals". ESPN. 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
4. "Fifa bans Cameroon shirts". BBC Sport. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
5. "Cameroun-Afrique du Sud : les 27 de Broos". Fédération Camerounaise de Football. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
6. "Cameroon".

External links

• Fédération Camerounaise de Football official site
• RSSSF archive of results 1960–
• 2010 World Cup ESPN Profile