Cameroon came into the 2010 World Cup with legitimate hopes of getting into the knockout stages and perhaps progressing into the quarterfinals. The no. 19 ranked team in the world had the hopes of Africa on its shoulders. Instead, they’ve left in bitter disappointment, being one of the few teams in this tie-heavy tournament to leave without a single point.
High expectations were placed on Cameroon, the highest ranked African team at the Cup. The Cameroonians also have a long history of World Cup play, including their 1990 advance to the quarterfinals, which was matched by Senegal in 2002 but hasn’t been bettered by any other African nation. In a division with Denmark and Japan, they were picked by most analysts to place first or second in the group to advance to the knockout stages.
Instead they were shocked in the first match by Japan, losing 1-0 in a result that seriously hurt their chances. In their next game, they were upset yet again, this time by a determined Danish squad 2-1. By their final game against the Netherlands, they were simply playing for pride, having been mathematically eliminated from competition. But even that was unattainable, with the Dutch sending the Cameroonians home with a 2-1 loss.
A disappointed reaction
After their final game, there nothing for Cameroon to do but rue their performance.
"We are very, very disappointed. The team did play well but we didn't win," said midfielder Alexandre Song.
Stephane Mbia talked to Reuters after the game, and talked about a tense dressing room environment and many things that went wrong for their 2010 FIFA South Africa World Cup campaign.
“ A lot of things need changing," said Mbia "I think we played very well but we had some very bad luck."
Their second loss caused dismay in their home country, causing many to openly criticize both the players and the coaches of the Indomitable Lions. The third match was, like host South Africa’s third match, simply an opportunity to give their fans a win that would be meaningless in the standings. But unlike South Africa, which defied expectations to beat France, they fell short again.
What went wrong?
A lack of unity is perhaps the best explanation. Coach Paul Le Guen admitted after the tournament he hadn’t been successful in bringing together a squad of 23 players.
"Maybe we lacked unity and I didn't have success unifying and bringing the team together. We can't speak about success, that's for sure," Le Guen said. "I tried what I thought would a good list of 23 players, mixing experience and youth.
Samuel Eto’o had come out and famously criticized his coach after the first game and essentially took control of the team’s selection policy after the first game, which produced no better results than Le Guen had achieved. After the tournament he came out and praised Le Guen for his performance, perhaps trying to put a feud to rest. But other players weren’t as kind, such as striker Mohamadou Idrissou.
"I am furious with the coach," Idrissou said. "I'm from Cameroon, there are people who are here for us, but who are lying to us. They are not here for the country and that's why we have to go home."
Idrissou wasn’t able to perform up to expectations. In fact, the only player who truly played well for his team was their star Eto’o, who created many chances and scored the only two goals his team managed all tournament.
But some of Le Guen’s selections also drew fire, as he left out key players such and Rigobert and Geremi Song out of the starting line-up. Though he shuffled his line-up heavily after that, it was to no avail, leaving Cameroon to have to regroup and reconsider their next approach.
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