Libreville, Gabon - It wasn’t so much a roar as a meow with which the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon announced their presence here in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), but coach Hugo Broos saw enough to declare that his team will “at least reach the quarter-finals”.
The Belgian had a torrid time assembling Cameroon’s 23-man squad after snubs from eight players that included Joel Matip and Eric Choupo-Moting. Despite that, Cameroon managed to dominate Burkina Faso in their 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Stade de Amitie. Clinton N’Jie, who wouldn’t have played had Choupo-Moting been around, raised his hands to show that the Indomitable Lions can do it without the infamous eight.
The side played as a unit, without egos and distractions that have destroyed them in the past. Broos needs to make a few adjustments, especially in a defence that’s easily stretched into wide positions to leave a huge gap in central defence, before they take on debutants Guinea-Bissau, who stole a huge point from hosts Gabon.
“We missed a golden opportunity to be on top of this group by winning against Burkina Faso,” Broos said. “All we needed was someone to put the ball in the back of the net. I can’t say that the players were bad.
"We dominated Burkina Faso. In these types of tournaments you have to wait until everyone has played to assess your chances and see where you stand because training and friendly matches are different from the competition. I can say that we are ready. We have what it takes to at least reach the quarter-finals and then we will see how far we can go after that.”
Stallions coach Paulo Duarte had some harsh words for his players, especially playmaker Abdou Razack Traore, arguing that he didn’t do what he told him to do.
“I am not insulting my players because I need them,” Duarte said. “When I win, I win with them and when I lose, I lose with them. It’s just a comment. It’s something that we need to correct for the next match. It’s my opinion. You asked me to analyse the match and I did that with that comment when I said that my playmaker didn’t really do what I wanted him to do.
"Most of the time Charles Kobare played alone in midfield. This isn’t what should have happened.”
The first round showed that Burkina Faso and Cameroon could dominate the group while Gabon and Guinea-Bissau are at risk of crashing out in the group stage. Burkina Faso and Cameroon played with more intensity in their 1-1 draw, unlike the dull encounter between Gabon and Guinea-Bissau.
That will change on Wednesday when the hosts take on the Stallions in a must-win match for them if they are to keep their dreams of making it into the quarter-finals alive as well as please the disgruntled fans who booed them off the pitch. But they won’t have it easy, coming up against a coach who knows them well.
“Just because Cameroon have won this tournament four times and Gabon are the hosts, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t believe in ourselves and that we can make it out of this group,” Duarte said. “Cameroon are serious contenders for this trophy, just like Gabon. But I know Gabon very well. I was their coach. I know the players very well. I am sure that when we have to play them, our payers will do better than they did against Cameroon.”
Njabulo Ngidi is in Gabon courtesy of Supersport