The Indomitable Lions’ coach Rigobert Song has unveiled the list of 22 players who will face Mexico on 10 June 2023. A number of players have returned to the squad, while others have been dropped.
Cameroon takes on Mexico in a friendly match on 10 June in San Diego in the United States of America. The list unveiled includes the return of 2017 African champion Fabrice Ondoa. Among the returnees are Stéphane Bahoken, who missed out on the World Cup, and Olivier Mbaizo, who was left out of the squad after the World Cup. Among the big absentees is Inter goalkeeper André Onana. Also absent are captain Vincent Aboubakar, German champion Choupo-Moting and Italian champion André-Franck Zambo Anguissa.
As expected, Rigobert Song , coach of the Indomitable Lions, announced the list of 22 players he has called up for the match against Mexico on 10 June at a press conference on 1 June. By his own admission, he had been prepared to explain the absences of some of the national team’s key players.
As for the absence of Indomitable Lions captain Vincent Aboubakar, the coach cited the player’s club schedule. He is due to play an important match in the Turkish league on 7 June. His club Besiktas take on Konyaspor in the hope of finishing the season on the podium and earning a place in European competition.
“We have to be reasonable, especially as he’s the captain, so we don’t need to see him any more. The most important thing is that he’s there for the September match against Burundi,” explained the coach.
He had almost the same explanation for the absence of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, the Cameroon striker who won the German championship with his club Bayern Munich. The only difference is that Choupo-Moting’s absence is not due to an overloaded schedule, but to the fact that he is returning from injury and has been given a rest for the match against Burundi, which must qualify the Indomitable Lions for the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Rigobert Song also touched on the case of André Onana, who has been the talk of Cameroon since the Cameroonian goalkeeper’s outstanding performances in the Champions League with his club Inter. Although he retired from professional football after the last World Cup for a reason that has never been explained by Cameroonian football officials, more and more Cameroonians are calling for his return to the national team.
Even the Minister of Sport and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, has made it clear that the Cameroonian authorities want to see André Onana back in goal for the Indomitable Lions.
“He and I talk like big brother and little brother. He knows what he has to do to be called up again. The doors are open, it’s up to him to do what’s essential,” concluded Rigobert Song on the matter.
