Cameroon Fall to Paraguay in Pre-World Cup Friendly
Cameroon suffered a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay in their latest World Cup warm-up match, played on Thursday in Kufstein, Austria. The result marks the Indomitable Lions’ first setback in their pre-tournament preparations and highlighted a tale of two halves for the African side.
The South Americans struck early, taking advantage of a sluggish start from Cameroon. Oscar Romero opened the scoring in just the fourth minute, setting the tone for a dominant first-half display by Paraguay. The Cameroonian defence looked disorganised, and Paraguay came close to doubling their lead several times before the interval.
Head coach Volker Finke responded with tactical changes at half-time, and the Lions returned to the pitch with renewed intent. Although the second half showed signs of improvement, Cameroon struggled to convert possession into clear chances. Their efforts were further dampened when veteran striker Roque Santa Cruz capitalised on a defensive lapse to make it 2-0 for Paraguay.
Star forward Samuel Eto’o was sidelined due to injury and did not feature in the match—a significant blow to Cameroon’s attacking options.
Despite the deficit, Cameroon showed late resilience. Forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting pulled one back in the 75th minute, heading home from a corner to give his side hope. Moments later, they were handed a golden opportunity to equalise when Mohamadou Idrissou stepped up to take a penalty. However, the striker’s effort was off-target, and Paraguay held on to secure the win.
Cameroon will look to regroup quickly as they face Germany in their next warm-up fixture on Sunday, June 1, in Mönchengladbach. With the World Cup just weeks away, Finke will be keen to fine-tune his squad and restore confidence before the tournament begins.
