)
Cameroon named their 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with many familiar names and a major omission.
Cameroon named no fewer than nine players with fewer than five international caps in their 26-man squad to represent the country at the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford is the pick of the bunch, having impressed in his first season and a half in the Premier League. The forward only made his debut for The Indomitable Lions this year after switching allegiances from the French national team.
Mbeumo isn’t the newest face in this squad, as that honour falls to 19-year-old Marseille goalkeeper Simon Ngapandouetnbu. The teenager has not played a senior game for Marseille yet, but has shown enough signs for coach Rigobert Song to select him as one of the three goalkeepers in the side.
The name of Gent centre back Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui was conspicuously missing from the final list of names for the World Cup, and Song has offered no explanation for the omission.
Ngadeu-Ngadjui had been a stalwart for Cameroon before being left out of the squad for Qatar, helping them to an unexpected African Cup of Nations triumph in 2017 and playing every match as they reached the AFCON semi-finals on home soil in 2022.
He was also called up for the last set of friendlies, against Uzbekistan and South Korea, and was widely expected to be one of the first names on Song’s list for Qatar. Instead, he’ll be watching the team from his couch.
Other surprise omissions include Frankfurt defender Jerome Onguene and Sivasspor’s Clinton N'Jie. Perhaps N’Jie’s exclusion from the list wasn’t as surprising since he missed the decisive penalty kick that knocked Cameroon out of AFCON 2022.
)
There was also no room in the team for Liverpool’s Joel Matip, whose rift with the Cameroonian FA continues in earnest.
There was room for a number of familiar faces, including AFCON 2022 top scorer Vincent Aboubakar, Bayern Munich’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Inter’s Andre Onana, Napoli’s André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, and Lyon’s Karl Toko Ekambi.
Choupo-Moting is the oldest player in the squad at 33 years old, while Aboubakar is the most experienced player with the national team as he has represented them on 88 occasions.
Ngapandouetnbu remains the greenhorn. He is both the youngest player and the player with the fewest international caps, with zero so far. That is unlikely to change unless something incredible happens.
The full squad:
Goalkeepers: André Onana (Inter), Devis Epassy (Abha), Simon Ngapandouetnbu (Marseille);
Defenders: Nicolas Nkoulou (Aris) Collins Fai (Al-Tai), Nouhou Tolo (Seattle Sounders) Jean-Charles Castelletto (Nantes), Olivier Mbaizo (Philadelphia Union) Enzo Ebosse (Udinese), Christopher Wooh (Rennes);
Midfielders: André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Napoli), Pierre Kunde (Olympiacos), Samuel Gouet (Mechelen), Martin Hongla (Hellas Verona), Gaël Ondoua (Hannover 96), Olivier Ntcham (Swansea City), Jerome Ngom Mbekeli (APEJES de Mfou);
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (captain) (Al-Nassr), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich), Karl Toko Ekambi (Lyon), Christian Bassogog (Shanghai Shenhua), Moumi Ngamaleu (Dynamo Moscow), Jean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford), Georges-Kévin Nkoudou (Beşiktaş), Marou Souaibou (Coton Sport).
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)