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| Nickname(s) | Lions Indomptables (Indomitable Lions) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Fédération Camerounaise de Football |
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| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Head coach |  Paul Le Guen |
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| Asst coach | Yves Colleu Thomas Nkono |
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| Captain | Samuel Eto'o | ||
| Most caps | Rigobert Song (129) | ||
| Top scorer | Samuel Eto'o (41) | ||
| Home stadium | Stade Omnisports | ||
| FIFA code | CMR | ||
| FIFA ranking | 14 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 11 (November 2006) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 62 (April 1997) | ||
| Elo ranking | T24 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 12 (June 2003) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 76 (April 1995) | ||
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| First international | |||
.svg){kind=small} Cameroon 9 - 2 French Somaliland (Madagascar; 13 April 1960) |
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| Biggest win | |||
| Cameroon 9 - 2 French Somaliland (Madagascar; 13 April 1960) |
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| 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) |
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| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 6 (First in 1982) | ||
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 1990 | ||
| African Nations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 15 (First in 1970) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 |
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| Confederations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 2001) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up, 2003 | ||
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Men’s Football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2000 Sydney[1] | Team |
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Lions Indomptables (Indomitable Lions), is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side; Cameroon has qualified for the FIFA World Cup five times - in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 - more than any other African nation. They were the first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, in 1990, losing to England in extra time. They have also won 4 African Nations Cups, as well as the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics[1].
History
Cameroon played its first match against Somalia in 1960, prevailing 9-2.
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 Italy and held on to a surprising 1-1 draw. Cameroon held Peru and Poland to 0-0 draws but failed to qualify for the second round. Cameroon did their fans proud having not lost a game.
Cameroon narrowly failed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
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 shocked the world by defeating holders Argentina 1-0 with a goal scored by Omam Biyick (header). Cameroon later defeated Romania 2-1 and lost to the Soviet Union 4-0, 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 Roger Milla scoring two goals in the extra time. In the quarter finals Cameroon faced England. At 25 minutes England's David Platt scored for England. In the second half however Cameroon came back with a 61st minute penalty from Kunde and took the lead with Ekeke at 65 minutes. England however equalized in the 83rd minute with a penalty from Lineker. Lineker made in 3-2 for England with a penalty in the 105th minute. Cameroon had nearly created one of the greatest upsets in the 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 convincing 2-2 draw with Sweden, Cameroon were determined to make an impact. However a 3-0 loss to Brazil and a 6-1 loss to Russia effectively ended their hopes of glory.
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 notably 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]
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. Before the start of the World Cup, Cameroon ran into controversy sporting Puma sleeveless kits which they wore in the 2002 African Cup of Nations. FIFA immediately declared the kits illegal and black sleeves were added. 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 time unitil 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.
2010 World Cup Qualification
In Cameroon's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, the team was grouped with Gabon, Togo, and the Morrocan national football teams. After a slow start in their campain, with a shocking loss to Togo, and drawing Morroco, the coach of Cameroon, Otto Pfister was fired and Frenchman Paul Le Guen was appointed to be 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 Morroco 2-0 in Fez in their last match of their campain. Gabon would also be defeated by Togo 1-0 in Lome. Both results caused Cameroon to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
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.
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.
Cameroon's form in the new millennium
Cameroon started the new millennium on a very high note, winning the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2000 and 2002 African Cup of Nations and finishing second place in the 2003 FIFA Confederations cup. Since 2002, Cameroon has not tasted any victory after being unable to win any of the next three African Cups and failing to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World cup. Ever since Marc-Vivien Foé died, Cameroon's football has been on the downfall. Many have said that Cameroon needs to turn to the youth for success. The experience that once prevailed is now fading away, although players like Alexandre Song, Landry Nguemo, Frank Songo'o and Stephane M'bia all look promising. They would make a strong comeback by qualifying for their record 6th World Cup 2010.
Cameroon Football Achievements
- Olympic Games :
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- 1 Time Gold Medalist (2000)
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- African Cup of Nations :
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- 4 Time Champion (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002)
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- All-Africa Games :
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- 4 Time Champion (1991, 1999, 2003, 2007)
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- Afro-Asian Cup of Nations :
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- 1 Time Champion (1985)
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- CEMAC Cup :
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- 2 Times Champion (2003, 2005)
- 1 Time Runners-up
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- Central African Games :
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- 2 Times Champion (1976, 1987)
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- UDEAC Championship :
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- 4 Times Champion (1984, 1986, 1987, 1989)
- 1 Time Runners-up
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- 1995
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- 2003
World Cup record
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 to 1962 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1966 | Withdrew | |||||||
| 1970 to 1978 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1982 | Round 1 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1986 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1990 | Quarter-finals | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 1994 | Round 1 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| 1998 | Round 1 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 2002 | Round 1 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2006 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2010 | Qualified | |||||||
| Total | 5/18 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 29 | |
Confederations Cup record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 to 1999 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2001 | Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2003 | Second place | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2005 to 2009 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Total | 2/8 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
African Nations Cup record
| African Cup of Nations | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titles: 4 Appearances: 15 |
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| Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position | ||||
 1957 |
Did not enter |  1976 |
Did not qualify |  1994 |
Did not qualify | ||||
 1959 |
Did not enter |  1978 |
Did not qualify |  1996 |
Round 1 | ||||
 1962 |
Did not enter |  1980 |
Did not qualify |  1998 |
Quarter-finals | ||||
| 1963 |
Did not enter |  1982 |
Round 1 | 2000 |
Champions | ||||
| 1965 |
Did not enter |  1984 |
Champions |  2002 |
Champions | ||||
| 1968 |
Did not qualify | 1986 |
Second place | 2004 |
Quarter-finals | ||||
| 1970 |
Round 1 |  1988 |
Champions | 2006 |
Quarter-finals | ||||
 1972 |
Third place |  1990 |
Round 1 | 2008 |
Second place | ||||
 1974 |
Did not qualify |  1992 |
Fourth place |  2010 |
Qualified | ||||
Current squad
The following players were called for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification against Morocoo on November 14, 2009.
Recent call-ups
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Managers
- 1982 Jean Vincent
- 1988-90
Valeri Nepomniachi - 1992 Philippe Redon
- 1992-93 Jules Nyongha
- 1994 Henri Michel
- 1994-96 Jules Nyongha
- 1996-97
Henri Depireux - 1997-98 Jean Manga Onguene
- 1998 Claude Le Roy
- 1998-00 Pierre Lechantre
- 2000-01 Jean-Paul Akono
- 2001 Pierre Lechantre
- 2001 Robert Corfu
- 2001-04
Winfried Schäfer - 2005-06
Artur Jorge - 2006-07
Arie Haan - 2007 Jules Nyongha
- 2007-09 Otto Pfister
- 2009 Thomas Nkono
- 2009- Paul Le Guen
See also
References
- ^ a b Since 1992, squads for Football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the international team.
- ^ ""Top Cards - France 1998"". fifa.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/statistics/teams/topcards.html. Retrieved November 21 2009.
- ^ "Fifa bans Cameroon shirts". BBC Sport. 2002-03-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/1862872.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
External links
- Fédération Camerounaise de Footballofficial site
- RSSSF archive of results 1960-
- Facebook page
- Cameroon Football Fan Page
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