Cameroon defeat Sudan 3-1 in International Friendly

Goals from Enoh Eyong Tarkang, Benoit Angbwa and Samuel Eto’o helped Cameroon to a 3-1 defeat of Sudan at the start of the LG Cup in Morocco.

The Indomitable Lions were without six of their regular defenders and had to make do with a right fullback (Allan Nyom) playing on the left and two central midfielders (Joel Matip and Georges Mandjeck) playing as centre-backs.

A screen shot of Eto'o scoring Cameroon's 3rd goal against Sudan on 11 Nov 2011 in Marrakech

The weakness of this make-shift back four was evident in Mandjeck’s poor foul in the 18-yard box that led to Sudan’s goal from the penalty spot.

TACTICS

Cameroon’s head coach started with a 4-3-3 formation and the team played quick, brisk football in the opening stages of the game. The two fullbacks surged forward to support the attack and this was seen in Benoit Angbwa’s goal (Cameroon’s second) at the 35th minute of play.

The Anzhi defender was so high up the pitch that, he is the one who passed the ball to Eric Maxim  Choupo-Moting at the edge of the penalty area. The striker’s shot was  parried away by the Sudanese goalkeeper but Angbwa had followed the action and scored from the rebound.

However, in the latter stages of the first half and most of the second-half, Cameroon’s pressing was not consistent enough especially from midfield. The passing also dipped and became a bit sloppy.

The Sudanese were very quick and operated using rapid counter-attacks when Cameroon lost the ball in their half. Their attacking midfielders displayed cohesion and some purposeful interplay particularly in the second half.

PLAYERS

The Nancy goalkeeper Roland N’dy Assembe showed he is a great shot-stopper when he replaced Idris Kameni. However, he needs to improve his distribution which these days is essential for goalkeepers. He often used long balls which basically returned the ball to the Sudanese.

Joel Matip proved he was an extremely talented player, probably one of the best on the night. He passed well, distributed the ball masterfully, intercepted effectively and read the game properly. Those qualities would have been useful in Cameroon’s midfield, especially in the second half. Hopefully, when the normal centre-backs return after this series of friendlies the coaches would attempt to play Matip as a holding midfielder.

Once again Choupo-Moting was oozing with class and skill. The Mainz forward makes football look so easy with exquisite touch and passing. He has clearly established himself in Cameroon’s starting team. Two goals were scored from rebounds following shots at goal by Choupo-Moting.

He was replaced by Vincent Aboubakar (Valencienne) who also displayed promise and showed signs that he is maturing tactically. Six months ago he would have delayed with the pass to Eto’o that led to Cameroon’s third. Now, the former Cotonsport attacker has added vision and intelligence to his natural talent.

Sali Edgar, another ex-Cotonsport player, has always had vision which he displayed during the African Youth Championships in South Africa this year. He was at the start of the move that led to Eto’o's goal but also provided much needed width in the second half when Cameroon’s game looked cluttered.

On the other hand, Jacques Zoua (yet another former Cotonsport player)  seemed to over-burdened by his first senior cap for Cameroon. Maybe he would have had a better debut had his thunderous header at the 31s minute not crashed on the cross-bar. It was the ping-pong following that effort which led to Enoh’s curtain-raiser. He could improve his output once he is more confident.

Georges Mandjeck also had problems which may be linked to his unusual role as a centre-back. He had drops in concentration and his positional sense has to improve. It would be nice to see him in his natural midfield position, though.

Allan Nyom  seems to be a very attack minded fullback making regular forward runs. Yet, one could notice he was uncomfortable playing as a left fullback. Hopefully, he would get a chance to prove his worth at right-back in the coming games.

Alex Song impressed going forward (as has been the case since his return); Samuel Eto’o was generally good, as an old hand should be. However, Jean Makoun was below standard and should not be recalled.

Cameroon vs Sudan: Jacques Zoua in Starting Line-up

Denis Lavagne has named Jacques Zoua of Swiss club FC Basel among the players to start for Cameroon against Sudan at the LG Cup in Morocco. It is the youngster’s first senior international cap.

Zoua, who played for Cotonsport under the stewardship of Lavagne, will be part of a three-man forward line that includes team captain Samuel Eto’o and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting.

The team is expected to start in a 4-3-3 formation with Enoh Eyong Tarkang (Ajax Amsterdam), Landry Ngeumo (Bordeaux) and Alexandre Song (Arsenal) playing in midfield. Enow is expected to play as the holding midfielder (a la Busquets for FC Barcelona) while N’guemo and Song would push further forward.

The back-four of Benoit Angbwa (Anzhi), Joel Matip (Shalke 04), Georges Mandjeck (Rennes) and Allan Nyom (Granada FC)  will be playing together for the first time and would need a lot of cover from the more experienced midfielders and goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni.

The full line-up then: Kameni; Angbwa (RB), Matip (CB), Mandjeck (CB), Nyom (LB); Nguemo (M); Enoh (M); Song (M); Zoua (FW), Eto’o (ST); Choupo-Moting (FW).

Apart from the goalkeeper, it is the team Gef’s Football Club predicted last evening. It would seem Lavagne has opted for continuity in terms of the formation used by Javier Clemente in his latter days.

Cameroon face Guinea Bissau in 2013 Africa Cup Qualifiers

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will face Guinea Bissau in the first phase of qualifiers of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The home and away knock-out games will be played in January 2012 at the same time as the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

These will be the first competitive games for Cameroon’s newly appointed technical staff headed by Frenchman Denis Lavagne.

Cameroon fans have to get set for the upcoming games

The Nations Cup is being switched from even to odd years so there is only one year between the next two events.

As a result the qualifiers for the 2013 competition have been divided into three parts:

• A first preliminary stage involving the four  lowest ranked teams that are not qualified for the Africa Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. As such  Seychelles will play against Swaziland while Sao Tome take on Lesotho.
• The winners of these games plus 26 other countries that have not qualified qualified for the 2012 edition of the Africa cup will face each other in head-to-head (home and away) knock out games (see pairings below).
• The winners of these games will then be paired against teams that will participate in the 2012 Africa Cup. These games will also be home and away, head-to-head fixtures.
• The fifteen teams that emerge from this process will join hosts South Africa in the 2013 tournament.

Here is the complete fixture list as drawn by the Confederation of African Football:

Preliminary round one:

Seychelles v Swaziland

Sao Tome v Lesotho

Preliminary round two:

Ethiopia v Benin

Rwanda v Nigeria

Congo Brazzaville v Uganda

Burundi v Zimbabwe

Algeria v The Gambia

Kenya v Togo

Sao Tome/Lesotho v Sierra Leone

Guinea Bissau v Cameroon

Chad v Malawi

Seychelles/Swaziland v DR Congo

Tanzania v Mozambique

Central African Republic v Egypt

Madagascar v Cape Verde

Liberia v Namibia

Friendly: Cameroon draw with Equatorial Guinea 1-1

Javier Clemente: Was this his last game in-charge of Cameroon?

Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea played a 1-1 draw in an international friendly on Tuesday in Malabo. The Lions scored the curtain raiser through striker Leonard (Leonie) Kweuke before their hosts equalised. .

Cameroon coach Javier Clemente fielded a second-string team for this encounter apart from Alexandre Song who was duly withdrawn by the second-half to prevent him picking-up an injury.

Cameroon’s passing, especially in that second-half, was really woeful. Eric Djemba Djemba showed again that he doesn’t deserve to be recalled to the team, often losing possession as was the case against Mauritius and Congo (Kinshasa).

Abouna Ndzana, the young Astres Douala full-back who deputised at right-back, showed enthusiasm surging forward, but he was often caught out of position. His short-passing was unimpressive and he kept kicking the ball long to the forwards who were not the tallest in the world once Kweuke had been substituted.

The players generally looked tired and sluggish. This was not helped by the rugged play by the hosts whose tackles that gave a stop-start tempo to the game. It was unpleasing to watch.

A [particularly bad challenge against Kweuke forced the Cameroon coaches to replace him with Benjamin Moukandjo Bille just before half-time. His teammates got enraged when the referee didn’t whistle for a foul or warn the Equato-Guinean player.

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations co-host showed determination and power which led to their equaliser. But they hardly ever got near to Jules Goda’s goal area on his 1st start for Cameroon.

Edgar Sali, who only five months ago was still playing for the U-20s, gave a good account of himself. However, his set-pieces were poorly taken whereas that is one of his strengths.

Will this be Clemente’s last game as head coach of the Indomitable Lions? The rumour mill has been grinding since Cameroon failed to beat Senegal in June.

The Spaniard however says he is there to re-build the squad and is in for the long-term with Cameroon regardless of the team’s failure to qualify for next year’s AfCon tournament.

The re-building process continues next month when Cameroon plays two international friendlies against Ivory Coast and Algeria. Will the Spaniard be in-charge then?

Cameroon beats DRC 3-2 but no AfCON 2012 for Lions

Cameroon knew they were not going to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) even if they defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). All they wanted was a win to end the qualifiers with pride; which they did by beating the DRC 3-2 in Kinshasa on Friday.

Very little noise was made before the game. Even Paul Biya who so often presents the team as an example for the country’s youth to emulate, didn’t include them in his campaign speeches in the run up to Sunday’s Presidential Election.

Anyway, that was when the Lions were truly Indomitable and won most of the times. In reality,  though, it is now that the Indomitable Lions are really epitomising Cameroon: a country with great potential, talented human resources (at home and abroad) but lacking leadership and infested by bad governance. (We’ll come to that further down this post).

Return to 4-3-3

Cameroon were missing a flurry of players including  Stephane Mbia, Aurelien Chedjou, Benoit Amgwa, Joel Matip  who are out injured. As a result coach Javier Clemente played with a defence line which had never played together .

Enoh Eyong who is normally a midfielder had to start at right-back, Sebastien Bassong partnered with Nicolas Nkoulou in central defence for the first time since the 1-1 draw with the DRC in October  last year in Garoua; and Gaetan Bong held his role at leftback as was the case in the past two games.

Clemente opted for a midfield trio in which Eric Djemba was the holding midfielder infront of the back four; while Landry Ngeumo and Alex Song worked the channels. The latter was so advanced in the first half that he had a hand in Eto’o's equaliser (1-1) and hit the cross-bar after a beautiful give-and-go with Eto’o a few moments later.

But the team looked disjointed on several occasions and Djemba was a weak link as in his defensive role. He was heavy and got beaten for pace most times the  Congolese started a fast counter-attack.

This exposed the centre-backs and added pressure on Enoh who was playing for the very first time at right-back. Bong was just on an off day and many fans on internet forums questioned why the coach had not called Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

All the Cameroonian players seemed to have problems with the artificial turf used for the game but this alone could not explain the number of poor passes in the first half and the misses by the attackers.

Mystery-man Adongcho

Mbuta Andongcho scores for Cameroon but has no club?

Moukandjo Bile who was playing wide on the right was particularly wasteful with the opportunities he had. Eto’o and Eric Choupo-Moting often interchanged roles as central striker and wide left forward and on several ocassions they sliced the Congolese but made a bad final pass.

It was only after Clemente substituted Djemba (replaced by Mbuta Adongcho) and switched formation to a flexible 4-2-1-3  (4-2-3-1) in the second half that cam,eroon seemed to control the game. By then DRC were leading 2-1 and had even managed to miss a penalty. The game was as tight as the scoreline.

Cameroon finally equalised through Adongcho who poked in a ball headed down by Nkoulou. Adongcho was again involved in the winning goal holding the the ball long enough to see that Choupo-Moting (who had started the move) got into a scoring position before passing the ball.

Adongcho is quite a mystery. I don’t know where he actually plays his football. Cameroon media say he is clubless and is struggling to get a move to Rumania. However, he seems to score every time he is given his chance to play.

The win must have been a relief for the players but they would certainly have many regrets. With the array of talent in the squad, it’s a shame that they are not going to be at the AFCON.

Bad Governance

This is down to bad management and leadership from sports officials in Cameroon and some of the senior players in the squad.

Cameroon’s sports authorities decided to recruit as head-coach, a Spaniard who stays in Spain and only flies-in when there is a game at hand. He seemingly has a pre-planned list of players that he picks regardless of whether they are in forme or even playing football at all.

These same authorities failed to deal with the inter-personal clashes that are said to have ruined the teams World Cup. They made an unofficial ban on some players, particularly Alex Song, only to realise when Cameroon was already limping, that these players were vital.

Bickering between Eto’o and Song poisoned the dressing room and left the team appearing on soap opera columns rather than on sports pages.

But how could fans expect a team operating in a dysfunctional set-up fraught with bad-governance  to perform well.

Hey! This is Cameroon – a country where a dead man was appointed as a as the head of a Division and the ruling party could appoint a dead man into its central committee. Why should a coach not name players who have no clubs in the national team?

Cameroon players have a spirit that pushes them to want to survive. It is the same spirit that is in the hawkers on the streets of Yaounde, the benskineurs (motorbike taxi riders) in Douala, Limbe and Bamenda and the high school graduate selling telephone top-up cards in Buea.

But there comes a time when even the fighting spirit can’t get you anywhere when there is dis-organisation and the absence of visionary leadership.

It happened in the post-1990 World Cup era and Cameroon failed to qualify for the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations. It has happened again and they are out of the 2012 edition. But, shall they  ever learn?

Cameroon’s Lionesses win Gold at All-Africa Games

Cameroon’s women have won All-Africa Games gold for the first time by beating Ghana 1-0 in the women’s football final at Maputo’s national stadium while the men’s (U-23) team won Bronze at the tournament.

Madeleine Mani Ngono headed in a cross in the 56th minute in the Ladies’ final that was played in front of a very small crowd, the BBC reported on Saturday.

“We’re very pleased, but Nigeria are still the best team in Africa,” said Cameroon coach Enow Ngachu.

The victory is Cameroon’s greatest achievement in women’s football, the BBC said (full match report here).

Meanwhile Cameroon’s men’s team beat Senegal 5-4 after post-match penalty-kicks in the third place play-off game. Both teams were tied at 1-1 after normal time, Cafonline reported.

Cameroon won this tournament thrice in a row (1999, 2003 and 2007) but their hegemony ended this year when Ghana defeated them 1-0 at the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Cameroon 5-0 Mauritius: Choupo-Moting Steals the Show

Clemente talks tactics with Choupo-Moting at half-time of Cameroon v Senegal, Dakar, 26 March 2011

Samuel Eto’o, Mbuta Adongcho and Leonie Kweuke all scored for Cameroon when they beat Mauritius 5-0 but the most outstanding performer for the Indomitable Lions was Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting. He scored twice and tormented the opposing defenders for 90 minutes.

Choupo-Moting was the bright spot in a tedious first-half in which Cameroon could not break down the very defensive 4-5-1 (practically 4-6-0) formation built by the Mauritius coach.

Playing in a 4-2-3-1, as we had predicted, Cameroon were unable to start attacking moves from midfield as both central midfielders had difficulty being creative.

Head coach Javier Clemente would surely come under a barrage of criticism for choosing to play Alexandre Song and Eric Djemba at the same time.

His choice to go with Henri Bedimo, a defender (left full-back)  as part the three players supporting the main striker also backfired as the Montpellier man could not deliver the creativity and penetration required. Bedimo was substituted at half-time and his replacement,  Kweuke, scored barely three minutes into the second half.

By then, Clemente had moved Samuel Eto’o to the wide left position. The imposing Kweuke played as the sole front-man supported by the technically gifted Choupo-Moting. Eto’o dribbled with ease on the left and after a series of good moves with Choupo, the Anzhi striker made a superb pass for Mbuta Adongcho to score Cameroon’s second.

However, the Lions midfield remained cumbersome until Djemba was substituted for Landry N’Geumo who simply turned the game around with his movement, forward passes and energy. It is no surprise that the rest of Cameroon’s goals came after his inclusion.  It had taken a while but Clemente finally realised that keeping N’Geumo on the bench was an error.

FRIENDLIES PLEASE 

Choupo-Moting gave the crowd moments to cheer with dribbles, twists and turns which left the Mauritius defenders on the floor. He excelled in all forward positions – playing wide but also coming into the centre to make quick one-two passes that created scoring chances for the Lions.

We can’t read too much into this performance given that it was against football minnows like Mauritius but the coaches have to tailor the cast around him.

Mbuta Adongcho scored some points through his zeal and dynamism. He was willing to take up positions in the 18-yard box that put pressure on the islanders and it is no surprise that he scored twice (one seems to have been cancelled for a handball). But he was caught offside (on the wings!) on several occasions which betrays a certain lack of tactical and positional sense.

The Lions would be happy to have broken their barren patch but Cameroon should have scored more goals – given how weak the opponents were.  Unfortunately, cohesion was a problem until the second-half. There were four changes from the game against Senegal, including two players who have not been in the squad for over a year.

The team was crying out for a friendly or two. It is shame that they can’t get one. They need it as part of the reconstruction effort ahead of the next qualifying campaign.

By the way, Senegal have already qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations as group winners after they beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in Dakar.

Cameroon vs Mauritius: Starting Line-up and Tactics

Javier Clemete, head coach of Cameroon at a press conference

Cameroon’s starting line-up for Saturday afternoon’s game against Mauritius has been released with Javier Clemente giving a first competitive start for the U.S.-based winger Mbuta Adongcho.

Idris Carlos Kameni (GK); Benoit Angbwa (RB) - Nicolas Nkoulou (CB)-Aurelien Chedjou (CB) – Gaetan Bong (LB); Eric Djemba Djemba (CM) -Alexandre Song (CM); Henri Bedimo (WL) -Matthew Adongcho (WR)- Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (FW) –Samuel Eto’o (ST).

Cameroon needs to score goals. They have been unable to score  in a competitive fixture in almost a year. The last time they scored and/or won a game was in their 3-1 defeat of  Mauritius in September last year.

Cameroon media seem to think  coach Javier Clemente has decided on a 4-4-2 to end this goal scoring drought. I suspect the team will pan out as a  4-2-3-1 on the pitch as was the case against Senegal in Yaounde.

The 4-2-3-1 formation gives them reliability in defence (with 2 central midfielders + back 4) and flexibility in attack (with three attacking player behind the main striker).

TACTICS

To make the formation even more attacking – the coaches could recommend a greater contribution from the full-backs in support of the high wide midfielders to offer more width.  That was  not the case against Senegal. Song and Djemba may be nominally defensive midfielders but they have shown in their clubs that they have the intelligience and technique to surge forward. They would be required to be more involved in attack.

Playing as a 4-2-3-1 balances the team and the numbers in midfield allow the team to play for possession well, often with numbers up, especially against an opponent that is likely to play five men in midfield.

Mauritius are not travelling to Yaounde with a realistic hope of beating Cameroon. Mauritius would seek to keep things tight at the back and concede as few goals as possible. Last year, they played a very defensive 4-5-1 against Cameroon and would certainly reappear in that formation. Their plan being to sit deep, defend and if possible counter-attack.

Cameroon on the other hand need to score. Score to regain confidence in themselves; score to prove that there is some relative improvement in their out-put; score to get the fans behind them again; score as many goals as possible to keep their slim hope of qualification going.

TEAM SELECTION

A few things to note about Clemente’s choices.

1. Sebastien Bassong has fallen down the pecking order. In Stephane  Mbia’s absence, the coach has opted for Chedjou as Nkoulou’s centre-back partner. Chedjou has been playing more regularly for his professional club  than Bassong. Hopefully, the versatile Lille player (he can also play in midfield) would wipe out the  souvenir of an unsettled player who scored an own-goal at the Africa Cup of Nations when he was fielded as a central defender for Cameroon.

2. In midfield, Clemente decided to drop Landry N’Guemo and Enoh Eyong, preferring Alexandre Song and Eric Djemba who have not played with the team for a very long while. Hopefully, their experience gets them to instantly click with their teammates.

3. In attack, Clemente called or recalled several attackers but he seems to have preferred the people he knows. He thus plays Bedimo (a leftback at his club) in a more attacking role. He also chose to play Adongcho ahead of the crowd of Europe based forwards in the camp. Adongcho is a natural wide player that the staff discovered during a special selection camp. He scored in a friendly against Macedonia. The coaches have since kept him in the squad despite media reports that he might not be playing regular football in America.

Goodluck to Clemente and his team and see you after the game for a tactical analysis.

What’s new in Clemente’s Cameroon team selection?

Benoit Assou-Ekotto (L) not picked while his club mate Sebastien Bassong (R) is in Cameroon squad

Cameroon’s head coach Javier Clemente has named Edgar Sali (Monaco) and Joel Matip (Shalke 04) in a 23-man squad, that does not include Tottenham’s  Assou-Ekotto, to face Mauritius in Yaounde next month.

The 18-year-old Sali was named the player of the tournament at the African Youth Championships this year but was unable to join his teammates for the U-20 World Cup in Columbia after he signed for French Ligue 2 side Monaco in July.

He is used as a wide midfielder for the Junior Lions although he has the potential to become a forward going central midfield dynamo.

Twenty-year-old Joel Matip, has not played for Cameroon since he appeared as a substitute in a friendly against Macedonia. This hasn’t gone down well with many Cameroon football fans who watch Matip in midfield or central defence for his German Club. He reached the semi-finals of the European Champions League with Shalke 04 this year.

WHO’S IN?

Cameroon’s Spanish-born manager  handed a first call-up to Leonie Kweuke, a striker who plays for Sparta Prague. Henri Bienvenu Tsama (Young Boys Berne), who appeared for the Lions in a friendly against Poland last year is given a second chance to prove his worth.

Midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba (Odense, Denmark) and France-based forward Alo’o Efoulou (AS Nancy)  have also been recalled. Djemba has not featured for Cameroon since 2009 while Efoulou is picked  for the first time since the Africa Cup of Nations in 2010.

Meanwhile Alexandre Song (Arsenal) is expected to make his full come-back for the Lions after a one-year hiatus.

ASSOU-EKOTTO

However, Clemente has no place in his squad for Benoit Assou-Ekotto. The Spurs left-back has been left out for disciplinary reasons, the assistant coach Francois Omam Biyick said on a local TV station.

“The problem with Assou-Ekotto started before the game against Senegal when we held a friendly against Macedonia. He was called to camp but he did not come and nobody knew where he was. The coach tried Gaetan Bong and was satisfied,” Omam is quoted as saying.

There was an uproar in March when Assou-Ekotto didn’t make the squad to face Senegal in Dakar and the staff was forced to later recall him. He was among Cameroon’s best performers in that game.But he did not turn-up for the return-leg although he had been named in the team.

He was summoned to a Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) disciplinary hearing to explain his absence but he didn’t appear in person.

Omam said if the final decision was his to make he would pick Assou-Ekotto because he is among Cameroon’s very best at the moment.

WHO’s OUT?

Charles Itandje dropped by Clemente ahead of Mauritius Game

The other high profile absentee is Achille Webo, the former Majorca forward who has moved to Turkey.

Clemente admires Webo but dropped him to the bench in Yaounde against Senegal. After promising displays by the youngsters fielded in that match maybe the Spaniard now understands why  Webo wasn’t such a big hit among the fans.

The former Liverpool keeper Charles Itandje  (cf photo) has also  been dropped and replaced by the young  Jules Goda.

Stephane Mbia (Marseille) and Vincent Aboubakar (Valencienne) are injured and out of contention for a place in the squad.

West Bromwich Albion’s Somen Tchoyi may feel slighted by the coaches though, given the fine form he has shown as a versatile forward for the team in the early days of the 2011/2012 English Premier League.

Here’s the complete list as published on the FECAFOOT website:

1. Idriss Carlos Kameni, RCD Espanyol – Spain

2. Guy Roland Ndy Assembe, AS Nancy – Lorraine – France

3. Jules Goda, Portimonense – Portugal

4. Benoit Angbwa, FK Anzhi Makhachkala – Russia

5. Nicolas Nkoulou, Olympique Marseille – France

6. Sebastien Bassong, Tottenham Hotspurs – England

7. Gaetan Bong, FC Valenciennes – France

8. Eyong Takang Enoh, AFC Ajax Amsterdam – Holland

9. Aurelien Chedjou, Lille OSC – France

10. Eric Djemba Djemba, OB Odense – Denmark

11. Henri Bedimo, Montpellier – France

12. Landry Nguemo, Girondins de Bordeaux – France

13. Alexandre Song, Arsenal – England

14. Andongcho Mathew Mbuta, Chrystal Palace -USA

15. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, FSV Mainz 05 – Germany

16. Benjamin Moukandjo, AS Nancy – Lorraine – France

17. Samuel Eto’o, FK Anzhi Makhachkala – Russia

18. Ngako Deutcha Duvalois, Sable FC de Batie – Cameroun

19. Joel Matip, Schalke 04 – Germany

20. Paul Alo’o Efoulou, AS Nancy – Lorraine – France

21. Bienvenu Ntsama, Young Boys – Switzerland

22. Edgar Salli, AS Monaco – France

23. Leonard Kweuke, AC Sparta Prague – Czech Republic

Can Ndtoungou’s Cameroon beat Uruguay?

Martin Ndtoungou, the head coach of Cameroon’s U-20 national team surely knows a thing or two about crossing the group phase of world tournaments. He has been part of the coaching staff of every Cameroon team that has crossed the first round of an international (non-continental) competition since 2000.

He was Jean Paul Akono’s assistant when Cameroon won Olympic Gold in Sydney (2000) and Winfried Schaeffer’s number 2 when Cameroon reached the final of the FIFA confederations Cup and lost to a Thierry Henri golden goal in 2003.

He then became the last coach to qualify a Cameroon national team to the knock out stage of an international competition when his pride of U-23 Lions reached the quarter-finals of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 (only to lose to Ronaldinho’s Brazil).

But his awesome record is in jeopardy.

His Cameroon team may be booted out of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup on Friday if they do not defeat Uruguay in their last group game. They have dominated ball possession, shots on goal (and on target) and all other statistics but they have lacked creativity and their finishing is awful. Their only goal in Columbia has been from the penalty spot (Christ Mbondi actually missed the kick and scored from a rebound).

Whereas their defence seemed to be their strength at the Africa Cup in South Africa it is part of their frailties now. The right-back Serge Tchaha scored an own-goal to hand New Zealand a draw while central defenders Ghislain Mvom Beyo and Yaya Banana jumbled things to allow Portugal score their lone and winning goal.

That is hardly comforting ahead of a clash with a Uruguay team that showed creative promise in their game against New Zealand. They controlled play throughout the first half but were denied goals by the fantastic Oceania goalkeeper. After they conceded a brilliant goal, the young Celeste piled pressure with swift movement and short-passing.

Adrian Luna, their diminutive playmaker (1.69m) is one to watch tonight along with Matias Vecino (a sort of relay midfielder) and Camilo Mayada (who marshals their right flank). Their huge striker Cesar Texeira often gets involved by dropping into the hole between midfield and attack (as if he were a false nine) dragging central defenders and creating space for midfield runners.

The team elegantly switches from a back 4 to a back 3 with their full-backs, especially Captain Diego Polenta, displaying pace, technique and precision as very attacking wingbacks.

Can Ndtoungou weave magic out of his tactical hat to prevent Cameroon from losing against Uruguay tonight?

He seems to have planned his team to play in a diamond formation tonight with just one holding midfielder Frank Kom and a playmaker (engache) Mbongo Ewangue operating behind two strikers: Frank Ohandza and Christ Mbondi. Yazid Atouba and Herve Mbega are expected to alternate on the left and right flanks.

This is quite a bold move and demonstrates that the coach is aware his team lacks creativity and penetration from the centre. He had attempted a similar pattern 4-3-1-2 which often morphed into a 4-2-1-3   with Canon Yaounde’s Clarence Bitang as a playmaker in both formations against Portugal but that didn’t work.

I have my reservations about Bitang’s quality and am quite happy to see him starting on the bench tonight. But he wasn’t the only one who was at fault against Portugal.

The wide players didn’t do enough defensive cover while the central midfielders Kom and Nyantchou often seemed lost (not knowing whether to cover their central defenders or their rather attacking full-backs) during Portuguese counterattacks.

Hopefully, the coaches have fixed that weakness and have warned their youngsters that 4-4-2 diamond requires high physical fitness levels for the midfielders and full-backs that have to keep shuttling back and forth.

I must admit that it is rare to see Ndtoungou playing with one holding midfielder. He believes in building strong, compact, disciplined teams. He usually sets out his teams in a flat 4-4-2 relying on wide players to feed his strikers. He must have been irked by the output so far to go bust as it seems.

It would be interesting to see if he maintains that shape. It could be that one of his options is to switch to a 3-5-2 when Uruguay change to a back 3 as they often did against New Zealand. That may explain why he has selected the versatile Idriss Nguessi at right-back ahead of Tchaha.

Whatever the formations – his team must score goals today to survive.  His record of always making it out of a group phase is also at stake.