On the set of beIN Sport 1, former Cameroon captain and 2017 AFCON winner Benjamin Moukandjo delivered an uncompromising analysis of the 1-1 draw between his country's national team and that of Guinea on Monday January 15 in Group C.
Defeat Guinea. That was the objective for Rigobert Song's men on Monday, on the first day in Côte d'Ivoire. Despite their numerical superiority for almost an hour, the scrappy Indomitable Lions had to settle for a 1-1 draw. A disappointing performance that many Cameroonians find hard to swallow. Benjamin Moukandjo in particular.Speaking on beIN Sport 1, the former Cameroon captain was quick to express his feelings: "A big disappointment!".
Winner of the 2017 African Cup of Nations, the former number 8 of the continent's second most successful nation (5), now a consultant, made some pointed observations, highlighting the lack of genius that characterized the play of his country's national team. "Cameroon lacked inspiration against Guinea," stressed Moukandjo, setting the tone for his analysis."When you have the advantage of playing with 11 against 10, you have to get the match going, develop the game and create chances. Instead, I saw a team that was really purring, that didn't know what to do with the ball at times," he said.
Without Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, Vincent Aboubakar and Bryan Mbeumo, Cameroon are inevitably handicapped. "When we looked at Cameroon before the start of the African Cup of Nations, we could see that their players were a little below our usual standards.We thought that, with the AFCON, they'd probably step up a gear and become more powerful," continued Moukandjo, who came close to saying that he was wrong to have believed in them.
The former Lorient man did, however, note one good point: Frank Magri's goal. A perfect action for a perfect goal: "We expected Magri to shine today; numerically, he replaced Vincent Aboubakar, even though he was playing on the flank. I think he would have been much more effective in the middle. The build-up to the goal was obvious: Nkoudou's perfect cross, Magri's precise header into the box - the Guinean keeper and defender couldn't intervene".
Senegal in ambush
The next game is against Senegal on Friday. Sadio Mané and his team-mates are top of the group after their 3-0 win over Gambia. Already under pressure, Cameroon must do better than a draw if they are to continue their adventure. Can they do it? Moukandjo wants to believe so: "I'm not going to be fatalistic because there are other games. I think they'll bounce back, especially against Senegal, when we know that Cameroon like to play against great nations. Given what Senegal showed us this afternoon, we're really going to have to be ready.
