Definitely qualified for the World Cup (Qatar 2022), the Cameroon team has been outlining great ambitions. Despite sharing a groupwith Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia, the coach of the Indomitable Lions, Rigobert Song is aiming for nothing less than the semi-finals.
Cameroon will play its eighth World Cup in Qatar (21 November-18 December). For the Indomitable Lions coach, the ambition is clear: to beat the record of the 1990 Generation who reached the quarterfinals of the Italian edition. "We have to reach the semi-finals at least," said Song in an interview published on Tuesday 17 May in Corner, the magazine of the Fécafoot. If the ambition is high, the manager of the Cameroonian team, believes it hard as iron. "Impossible is not Cameroonian," he said.
Mission (im)possible?
In order to achieve this feat and become the first African nation to play a semi-final of a World Cup, Cameroon must first pass the first round. The five-time African champions are in group G with Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia.
"It's a very tough group," admits Rigobert Song. Brazil, he says, is not only the first nation in the FIFA ranking. It is also the country that has won the most World Cup titles (5) and an incredible pool of talent. Switzerland, on the other hand, impressed the world at Euro 2021 by eliminating the French team thanks to a group that is a clever mix of experienced players and young wolves with big teeth like the Cameroonian-born Breel Embolo. "Serbia are also formidable," added the former Galatasaray defender.
But Cameroon are still Cameroon," he added. And we are determined to show that qualifying for the World Cup finals for the eighth time is not a coincidence. And we know some of our opponents quite well, especially Brazil, whom Cameroon have beaten in the past.
Fresh blood in the sights
Rigobert Song is working hard to put together the best possible team. The coach has already succeeded in convincing several nationals who are used to the youth teams in France. These include Olivier Ntcham (Swansea), Georges Kévin Nkoudou (Besiktas), Enzo Ebosse (SCO Angers), Olivier Kemen (Kayserispor) and Christopher Wooh (RC Lens)... The coach has other talented dual nationals in his sights. "We are in discussions with the young striker from Reims Hugo Ekitike, for example. It's going rather well," says the 45-year-old.
We're in talks with a young striker from Reims, Hugo Ekitike, for example, and it's going pretty well," he said. But there are some obstacles on the horizon. We have to admit," he said, "that the international calendar is tight and won't help us much. Some European championships end in May, others in June; there are the qualifiers for the 2023 African Cup of Nations, then we will have to find preparation matches with sparring partners that match the qualities of our opponents. But we will put together a good preparation program."
Song and his staff want to improve the team's collective game plan. For example," he said, "we need to make the passing game quicker and tighten up the lines in the defensive phases. We have players capable of adhering to this project. But we need to have back-up players in certain positions, especially the hard-hitting wide forwards."
