Against Brazil, Cameroon was facing a mountain. The men of Rigobert Song have nevertheless created a sensation by beating the Seleçao. Insufficient however to qualify in this group G where Brazil finishes first with 6 points, Switzerland 2nd with 6 points, Cameroon with (4 pts) and Serbia (1 pt) close the march.
For the third day of group G, Cameroon was facing Brazil. The Indomitable Lions won 1-0. A success for prestige because the teammates of Vincent Aboubakar, scorer of the lone goal, are eliminated.
From the start, Cameroon wanted to believe and press to embarrass the Seleçao. But the biggest opportunity of this beginning of match is for Brazil. Gabriel Martinelli puts a nice header at the quarter of the hour. Epassy, starting after the departure of Onana, makes a great save to preserve the chances of his team. The Indomitable Lions were well organized, but made several big mistakes. Tolo, Kundé and Faï were booked in the first half. Just before the break, Bryan Mbeumo came close to opening the score (45+3) but his header was beautifully saved by Ederson. The two teams go back to the locker room on this score of 0-0.
With Serbia-Switzerland at the break (2-2), the Cameroonians rush to attack at the beginning of the second half. Vincent Aboubakar's cross-shot hit the right post of Ederson (51st). However, two minutes later, Rodrygo came close to opening the scoring against a staggering and lucky Epassy. The Cameroonian keeper then interfered with Martinelli (55th), Militao twice (56th), and Antony (58th), with some hesitations that could have been costly. The Brazilians seemed to want to fold the match.
However, the pressure was off and Cameroon was back in the game. Ntcham, who came on, hit a shot from 30 meters into the Brazilian goal. In the extra time, Vincent Aboubakar scored a beautiful goal with his head. He will receive a red card on his celebration after removing his shirt because he had received a card before. However, this victory was not enough to qualify Cameroon because in the other game, Switzerland beat Serbia (3-2).
Cameroon becomes first African team to beat Brazil in the history of the World Cup. 1-0, Olympics 2000, 1-0 FIFA Confed Cup 2003, and now Qatar 2022, 1-0. pic.twitter.com/Tx7K3VDOOO
— Philemon Mbale (@philemonmbale) December 3, 2022
Cameroon becomes the first African nation to beat Brazil in the history of the World Cup competition. A feat that will probably be religiously conserved by the Lions who have also dominated Brazil in three different top level international competitions. 1-0, 2000 Sydney Olympics, 1-0 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, and now 1-0, 2022, FIFA World Cup.
Another elimination in the first round
Cameroon may be the African nation with the most World Cups played (8), but the Indomitable Lions are now conspicuous by their inability to get out of the group stage. On their last six participations, the Cameroonians have always failed in the first round (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2022). History repeats itself this year for the protégés of Rigobert Song.
