Cameroon, the first African team to play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will be up against their group A opponent Mexico. The match taking place at Arena das Dunas, Natal will kick off at 17:00 BST.
Cameroon is Africa’s most valuable squad to the tournament. According to FIFA valuations, the Cameroon team is worth £195.8m while Ghana is £158.5m and Nigeria is £143.1m. Mexico is worth £72.5m. The top three teams are Germany £641.2, Spain £590.1 and England £550.1m.
Cameroon’s oach Volker Finke said, the team is united and in high spirit. “Four years ago we were catastrophic. The mood in the camp wasn’t good, there were a lot of problems.
“But this time that’s not the case. We’ll be making our mark on this tournament.”
This will be the sixth time that Cameroon have graced the World Cup finals. Their first appearance came in 1982, where they failed to progress from the group stages despite being unbeaten after drawing all three games.
Cameroon made their World Cup name in Italia 90, where a side made up of players unknown to the average football fan, stamped their mark on the tournament.
The team defied the odds to reach the quarter finals, before being defeated by a Gary Lineker inspired England.
Cameroon went on to appear in the 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2010 finals but as of yet, they have not come close to emulating the class of Italia 90.
Manager: Volker Finke
The German, who coached Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg for 16 years, has been in charge of Cameroon since May 2013.
The 66 year old is a well travelled manager having also had spells at TSV Stelingen, TSV Havelse, SC Norderstedt, Japaneese club Urawa Red Diamonds, and FC Koln.
Despite being fairly experienced, Finke has yet to win any major silverware in his career, with the upcoming World Cup finals undoubtedly the highlight of his career.
Captain: Samuel Eto’o
Chelsea striker Eto’o is not only Cameroon’s captain but arguably their most important player, with his goals crucial if the side are to progress from what appears to be an extremely difficult group.
The former Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, and Inter Milan forward has scored an impressive 55 goals for Cameroon in a career which already includes 112 caps.
Despite not quite being the force of old, the Chelsea player will be crucial both as a leader and a goal scorer if Cameroon are to have any chance of making an impact in Brazil.
Player to watch: Alex Song
The former Arsenal and current Barcelona midfielder is nothing short of a class act. Song may not be a renowned goal scorer, but he is a man who can get the best out of his fellow players an important attribute for any side.
Song has won 39 caps for his country, and will provide the spark if Cameroon are to progress further than the group stages.
Their qualification was sealed with a 4-1 aggregate play-off victory over Tunisia.
Fixtures
Mexico v Cameroon (June 13 9.00 pm)
Cameroon v Croatia (June 18 11.00 pm)
Cameroon v Brazil (June 23 9.00 pm)
Squad List
Goalkeepers: Charles Itandje (Konyaspor), Guy Roland Ndy Assembe (Guingamp), Sammy Ndjock (Fethiyespor), Feudjou Loic (Coton Sport).
Defenders: Allan Nyom (Granada), Nounkeu Dany (Besiktas), Cedric Djeugoue (Coton Sport), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille), Jean-Armel Kana-Biyick (Rennes), Henri Bedimo (Lyon), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (QPR), Gaetang Bong (Olympiakos).
Midfielders: Enoh Eyong (Antalyaspor), Jean Makoun (Rennes), Joel Matip (Schalke 04), Stephane Mbia (Sevilla, on loan from QPR), Landry Nguemo (Bordeaux), Alexandre Song (Barcelona), Cedric Loe (Osasuna), Edgar Salli (Lens).
Forwards: Samuel Eto’o (Chelsea), Eric-Maxime Choupo-Moting (Mainz 05), Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy), Vincent Aboubakar (Lorient), Pierre Achille Webo (Fenerbahce), Mohamadou Idrissou (Kaiserslautern), Fabrice Olinga (Zulte Waregem).
Mexico
Mexico on their part will be relying Rafael Marquez, the 35 year old remains an important leader for the team.
The former Barcelona player will be appearing in his fourth World Cup for the Aztecs and coach Miguel Herrera says his presence is of huge benefit to the other members of the squad.
“Bringing Rafael Marquez along has had an important impact on the lads, he’s someone his team-mates have a lot of respect for, he’s a natural leader,” Herrera said.
