photo credit: jenny downing
The Glass is Half Full
Cameroon (like many squads from Africa) will enjoy the home field advantage aspect of this upcoming World Cup even though it is not played in their home country. Also the Indomitable Lions have made it to more Cups then any other African nation so they have the most experience playing on the biggest stage. Plus they have the key stars to make a legitimate run. They have a solid keeper that plays in La Liga, a forward matched by only a few in the game with his career milestones, and a bunch of major league players starving for a shot to have the spotlight shun on them. They might not be a Cup favorite, but Cameroon does have a pretty good group draw and that can take you pretty far all alone.
The Glass is Half Empty
Cameroon has made it to more World Cups then any other African squad, but since that impressive run in 1990 they have less wins then Ghana did last Cup. Cameroon has only won a single match since 1990 and the squad is usually a guarantee to exit after the first round. On average the country earns about one or two points in the event and then they take an early trip home. Eto’o could be the difference maker this year, but he wasn’t in 2006 when the club failed to even make the tournament. And this WCQ they heavily relied on defense to win matches instead of an explosive offense. They do have some potential, but going with history it is hard to fathom that Cameroon will be around after the first three matches. Plus Denmark earned a spot in the Cup over Sweden and Portugal, so the Indomitable Lions just might get dominated once again this Cup.