The five-time Africa Cup of Nations winners will be aiming to start their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a victory when they host Mauritius in Group D today (Friday) at the Japoma Stadium in Douala.
The Central Africa powerhouse - who’ll be playing as the home side have won all four of their clashes against the Mauritians, although they have not tucked-it-down against each other since September 2011.
The Indomitable Lions, having been seeded as a top team in Group D will realize their chances of finishing top, having been given a relatively advantageous draw alongside Angola, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Libya and their imminent opponents Mauritius.
Rigobert Song's side have won just one of their last seven games, having been stunned 1-0 by Russia and Senegal in international friendlies last month. Their home game against Mauritius could provide the perfect aphrodisiac for their recent poor form, before they make the trip to Libya next week.
Cameroon will be expecting to improve on their third-placed finish as hosts at the last edition of the tournament by making a strong statement to their qualification campaign, before travelling to Côte d’Ivoire next January for the 2023 AFCON tournament.
Amazingly, the Dodos of Mauritius, having won four out of their last nine matches have never qualified for a World Cup in their history, while their only appearance at AFCON came when competing in Egypt in 1974. They lost all three group games to crash out at the first stage.
Fidy Rasoanaivo's side who are currently ranked 177th in the FIFA World Rankings recent 1-0 win against Angola, who they will host in qualifying next week - showed that they are capable of defeating higher-ranked football nations.
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Cameroon will have to dash off without their talismanic forward Vincent Aboubakar, who has withdrawn from the squad due to a troubling injury. The 31-year-old would have been hoping to earn his 100th cap across the next week, as he has scored 37 goals in 98 appearances for his country.
With Eric Choupo-Moting also not involved, Karl Toko Ekambi could receive a chance through the middle of the hosts' attack, with Clinton N'Jie and Bryan Mbeumo likely to flank the Abha forward. Manchester United stopper Andre Onana should oust Fabrice Ondoa in goal having put aside his differences with Song and the national federation.
On the other hand, Mauritius will put majority of their hopes on Ashley Nazira, who has scored 10 goals in 27 caps for the Dodos.
KICKOFF: 19:00 GMT (7:00pm)
By: Pascal Amoah
