Cameroon again overcoming adversity to flourish at major tournament

FES, Morocco, Jan ‌5 : Cameroon’s football team seems to flourish best in adversity, and this Africa Cup of Nations final is no different, with the Indomitable Lions advancing to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

A 2-1 win over South Africa in Rabat in the last 16 on Sunday means they keep up their chance to add to the five African titles they have already amassed, plus expunge the disappointment of failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup.

“Missing out on the World Cup was a big deception for us, but we’re a young group of players who are still growing together,” said midfielder ‌Carlos Baleba, 22, after the win.

Cameroon has spent the last 18 months embroiled in a ‌bizarre battle of wills between its federation, headed by four-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o, and the sports ministry, which employs the coach.

Marc Brys was employed against Eto’o’s wishes, and the pair sparred publicly throughout the 21 months that the Belgian coached the team. Brys had the backing of the government, who pay the team’s costs, leaving a frustrated Eto’o undermining his coach whenever he could but being unable to get rid of him.

It meant Cameroon, who have been to more World Cups than any other African country, ‍bungled through their 2026 qualifying campaign, finishing behind the tiny Cape Verde in their group and then losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo in a play-off for the best four group runners-up in November.

World Cup failure, combined with a landslide re-election win for Eto’o around the same time, saw support for Brys suddenly fade, and he was fired three weeks before the finals.

In his place, the unheralded David Pagou was ​appointed new coach, and a squad for the Cup ‌of Nations selected without captain