Eight years may seem short, but it is a very long time for Cameroonians. Second most successful country in the African Cup of Nations behind Egypt, Cameroon is chasing a 6th title since 2017 and its coronation in Gabon. An endless quest for its supporters, who had to settle for a semi-final in 2021 and a meager qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
CAN 2025, which begins on December 21 in Morocco, is however an opportunity to put an end to this anomaly. And the hopes placed in these indomitable Lions are immense. “For Cameroon, two years without winning a CAN is already not good,” said Elviscio, member of the fan club. The 12th player 237. So this time we want CAN. The good result is the title. Without that, we will be disappointed. Very disappointed. »
“Cameroonians are divided in two”
The Cameroonian selection has, however, experienced some turbulence in recent months, and even more in recent days. On December 2, less than three weeks before the tournament, the legend Samuel Eto’o, just re-elected at the head of the National Federation, decided to clean house and fire the existing coach, Marc Brys. And his replacement David Pagou did not go into detail by depriving himself of several executives like André Onana and Vincent Aboubakar in his selection.
“It’s a challenge, a risk that was taken,” says Elviscio. Today, Cameroonians are divided in two. There are those who think this is not a good choice and there are those who agree. All this causes a lot of interest and anxiety. » “It’s not as if we had taken amateurs, the players who were called up and the new technical staff, they are also professionals,” points out his colleague Prisby. He just has to give it his all, we think he’ll be fine. »
The absences of the former Manchester United goalkeeper and the former Porto striker could, however, be detrimental. The second was also the decisive scorer during the last Cameroonian victory at the CAN. “But it’s a collective game, we shouldn’t feel sorry for that, we’re going to count on those who are there,” Elviscio promises. It will also give these players the opportunity to mature, they are the next generation of the national team. »
“If Mbeumo gets injured, we will start crying”
The two men also want to point out that the 2017 team was not only made up of big names. If Fabrice Ondoa (Seville), Nicolas Nkoulou (Lyon) or Clinton Njie (Marseille) were there, not all of them played in prestigious teams. “The team was not strong on paper, we underestimated it a lot,” confirms Prisby. But a CAN, no one goes there to lose. The Lions prepared psychologically and physically to win. »
This year, the Cameroonian attraction is called Bryan Mbeumo. Transferred to Manchester United this summer for more than 75 million euros, the striker shines with the Red Devils. And with his 27 caps with the Indomitable Lions, he is taking an increasingly important place within the group.
“He’s our real offensive leader,” says Elviscio. We have to tell the truth: if he gets hurt, we’re going to start crying. We just need someone up front who can seize the chances because in our team, we won’t be able to use Bryan Mbeumo as a scorer. This is the reason why we could perhaps deplore the absence of a guy like Aboubakar who could be this finisher. But with players like Franck Magri (Toulouse) or Christian Kofane (Bayer Leverkusen), we will be able to fight. »
Given the aspirations of the supporters, the pressure risks being enormous on the shoulders of these men. But that’s undoubtedly the price to pay when you wear the Indomitable Lions jersey.
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