Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable
Lions), is controlled by the Fédération
Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in
FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990,
1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any other African nation. 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.
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Cameroon national football team
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First games
Cameroon played its first match against
Djibouti
in 1960, winning 9–2. 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 in the
1972 Africa
Cup of Nations. They would not qualify for the competition for
another ten years.
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Cameroon national football team
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FIFA 1982 World Cup
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,
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.
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Cameroon national football team
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FIFA 1990 World Cup
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 in 3–2 for
England with a penalty in the 105th minute. The team was coached by Russian
manager and former player Valeri Nepomniachi.
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Cameroon national football team
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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.
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. 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]
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Cameroon national football team
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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. In a warm-up game, Cameroon again came close to being the
first African team to defeat England, in a 2–2 draw. England as yet, are still
undefeated by an African nation. 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. 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.
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Cameroon national football team
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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 shocking loss
to Togo and a draw against Morocco, the coach of Cameroon,
Otto Pfister, was fired and Frenchman
Paul Le Guen was appointed as the new
coach. 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.
Images of the
Cameroon national football team are
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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Cameroon national football team
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