FIFA World Cup 2022 African Team Profiles – Cameroon

Cameroon will be representing Africa at the FIFA World Cup for the eighth time, a record for an African team. That’s also as many as Portugal has managed. They’ll start off their journey against Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland on the 24th, before facing Aleksandr Mitrovic & co. on the 28th. The Indomitable Lions’ final group game will be against pre-tournament favourites Brazil on the 2nd of December, by which they’ll hope to have bagged some points. It’s not an easy group.

A Tough Group

In fact, it is a tough group, with many labelling this as the Group of Death. According to Elo Ratings (a ranking model that uses historical ranking data), this is the deadliest Group in the tournament and the sixth deadliest group since 1970. Factors such as Brazil’s Number 1 World Ranking and Serbia/Switzerland being in the Top 25 in the World come into play, contributing to an average ELO rating of 1901 (Source: FuveThirtyEight).

A Balanced Squad

Having said that, Cameroon come into this with a balanced squad (age-wise). An average age of 26 is neither too young, nor too old. In fact, one could say they’re at peak age. 

How Can They Progress?

According to the experts (Opta & FiveThirtyEight), Cameroon have a 3% to 4% chance of winning their group, and a 12 – 16% chance of finishing second. Finishing second looks to be their best bet, and Rigobert Song’s side will likely target the first two games for three or more points.

Key Game: Switzerland

The Swiss are favoured to finish second, and if there is one game that will be key to progress, we think this is it. A win here will put the Indomitable Lions on the front foot, in particular given that their Brazil game is at the end. If Brazil have secured qualification by the time they face Cameroon, you can see a scenario where they rest players and qualification is still in Cameroon’s hands.

Key Player: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

He may be 33 years old, but the Bayern Munich player comes into the tournament in good form. 10 goals in 10 is good enough return for any player, but particularly impressive for someone at Bayern Munich.