Promoted to Cameroon coach after the 2021 CAN, Rigobert Song will lead the Indomitable Lions to the 2022 World Cup. Before the Qatari meeting in November, the former captain of the five-time African champions spoke to FIFA about the upcoming competition and showed his ambitions.
It's an understatement to say that Cameroon will be treated to some great opposition in Qatar. Vincent Aboubakar's team is in Group G of the 2022 World Cup and will face Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland in an attempt to secure one of the top two spots, which will be synonymous with qualification for the Round of 16. Anything but an easy task for the Indomitable Lions, back in the competition after their last participation in 2014. They had lost in the first round and had shone more for extra-sporting concerns than for their performance on the field.
An episode that the new coach, Rigobert Song, does not intend to see repeated on the side of Doha. "The World Cups follow each other but are not the same. The past is the past", Rigobert Song cut short the FIFA microphone. "Today, there is a new dynamic, there are new projects and new leaders. I will not say that 2014 was a mistake. But I can tell you that we will not be subject to the same issues we faced in Brazil." Enough to reassure the fans of the Indomitable Lions. Especially since the objectives that have been set for them are high.
At the head of the Cameroon Football Federation for less than a year, Samuel Eto'o has put pressure on the group. The former Barça striker has warned the players who will be selected to defend the national colors, indicating that they "will not go to Qatar on a stroll. As much as to say that an elimination from the group phase would be a stain. A speech with which Rigobert Song is in phase. "Samuel Eto'o is a competitor. When you have a president of a federation, of the aura of Samuel Eto'o, it is first of all an honor to work with him. When he says something, it pushes us to go beyond what he thinks. He knows that whatever he says, he knows that anything is possible in soccer. It is a huge challenge, and we will do everything to live up to the dimension of his expectations, "said the Cameroonian coach.
Especially since for this World Cup, Rigobert Song can count on the return of Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting. In dispute with the former coach, Toni Conceiçao, the Bayern Munich striker has returned to better feelings after discussions with the president and his coach. "Samuel Eto'o, went to him. They exchanged a long time. He really wanted to reassure the player. Consequently, with regard to his questions, the president has done everything to ensure that the environment of players, including Eric-Maxim, is more comfortable in the selection, "said Song, before reassuring once again the Bavarian on his role in the selection: "Choupo-Moting is an excellent striker, an executive of the Indomitable Lions. The country needs him to be at the top of his game for the next matches.
This file is now closed, Rigobert Song now has the most complicated task before the kickoff of the World Cup 2022: to compose his list. He will have to make a decision to select his group of 26 players who will defend the colors of Cameroon in Qatar. And if he seems to have certainties in some positions, it is still time to think about some profiles. "I do not have precisely the 26 for Qatar. However, I have an idea that is more or less clear at this point. My staff and I continue to follow the players in their clubs. We exchange with them, in order to be able to put them in good conditions and that they are available when the time comes," he said, while hoping that injuries do not upset his plans.
