AP LUSSEL, Qatar: Cameroon coach Rigobert Song brought African football to a bittersweet night to remember.
Jerome Ngome Mbekeli, the only member of Cameroon’s team to play for a Cameroon club, scored an inspiring run and cross to set up Vincent Aboubakar’s header and stoppage-time winner in a 1–0 victory, making the Indomitable Lions the first African nation to win the title. Gone. Beat Brazil in the World Cup.
Despite the win on Friday, Cameroon finished third in their group and were eliminated.
24-year-old Ngom Mbekeli was Cameroon’s final replacement, coming on four minutes from time. Song credited his former coach, Henry Michel, with giving him a chance in 1994, when he played for local club Tonnerre Yaounde, making his World Cup debut.
“You need to rely on the youth,” Song said through a translator. “Henry Michel gave me an opportunity. He saw potential in me. Now I am the coach and I see potential in my young players.
“I knew (Ngom Mbekeli) was a good, quality player. He just needed a chance to show it. Hopefully his performance can inspire other local players.”
Goalkeeper Davies Apasi – who was sent home for disciplinary reasons following an altercation with Song before Cameroon’s previous game while normal starter Andre Onana was sent home – earned player of the match honors for a series of difficult saves. did.
“Nobody knew me – even in Cameroon – until I started playing for the national team a year ago,” Apasi said through a translator. “We can be proud of what we did tonight. We showed that we too can be a top team.”
Epassi and Abubakar both play for clubs in Saudi Arabia.
With eight goals in seven games, the 22-year-old Aboubakar was top scorer at the African Cup of Nations in January.
Song and Samuel Eto’o, president of Cameroon’s football federation, are modeling a strict discipline policy modeled after the European clubs they once played for – Song as a reliable defender and Eto’o as an exceptional striker. In.
“That’s where we’ve let ourselves down in the past,” Song said. “Maybe we didn’t do everything right, so we are focusing on discipline.
“Teams always need to take precedence over individuals. When you play for the national team, you need to do what is expected of you.”
While Brazil had already advanced and used mostly the reserves, Cameroon still became the first team to beat five-time champions in the group stage of the World Cup since Norway went 17 group matches unbeaten at the 1998 tournament in France. The run was over.
“We realize now that we could have done better,” Song said. “But we are a young team and today we have seen a young team getting stronger and stronger, and they should be congratulated for their performance.
“It’s a real shame that we have to go home now,” Song said. “But we will keep working and improving.”