Indomitable Lions : Hope In Regret!

The bar was set very high when the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon left for Qatar but once again return home at the group stage after a mixed participation. A sweet-bitter win over Brazil last Friday, December 2 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium was not enough for them to progress as Switzerland won in the other game to seal second spot in the group. Three games, one defeat, one draw and one defeat, an improvement from the 2010 and 2014 tournaments which is some consolation to the team.  After the euphoria of the victory against Brazil, reality has immediately set in and a thorough post mortem surgery is needed in order to better move ahead.

Questionable Tactical Choices
At the blast of the final whistle last Friday, most if not all of the players were unanimous they lost their chance to progress to the knockout stages. Head coach Rigobert Song will also have that feeling and will look back in all honesty and feel he could have done better with some of his tactical decisions and choice of personnel. His decision to hold back Christopher Wooh despite a leaky defence is still a mystery. He only unleashed Wooh when his hands were forced with injuries to Nkoulou and Castelletto but it was a little too late. While chasing the game against Switzerland, Song’s inexplicable decision to go for like-for-like substitutions was baffling as they killed any faint attempts at any come back. He did however learn from that mistake very fast and his substitutes in the next two games made the difference.

Poor Management Of The Onana Case
It will not be harsh to say off-the-field issues have become the trademark of the Indomitable Lions at major tournaments and the 2022 FIFA World Cup was no exception. In what could be termed the Andre Onana saga, the off-field distraction once again showed its ugly head which almost threatened team harmony. The management of the team will look back and feel they could have done better in handling the issue which went...