Samuel Eto’o’s return to the Cameroon national football team is now official, as his name features in the list of 26 players called up by coach Jean-Paul Akono for the crucial return match in the CAN 2013 qualifiers against Cape Verde. Alongside the Anzhi Makhachkala striker, notable comebacks include midfielders Achille Emana, Jean II Makoun, and Modeste Mbami. While Emana reappeared with the Indomitable Lions last September, Makoun and Mbami have been absent from the Cameroonian selection for an extended period.
Both Makoun and Eto’o had taken a break from international duty citing “poor organization.” Mbami, on the other hand, struggled with injuries and club instability. The surprise call-ups of Idrissou Mohamadou and Jean-Armel Kan-Biyik, as well as the inclusion of several new faces like Joslain Mayebi, Junior Olle Olle, Patrick Mevoungou Mekoulou, Joël Babanda, and 16-year-old Fabrice Olinga, add a layer of unpredictability to Akono’s list.
The notable absentees from the squad include Georges Mandjeck, Benoît Assou-Ekoto, Eyong Enoh, Stéphane Mbia, Landry Nguémo, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (due to injury), and Benjamin Moukandjo. Akono has chosen to exclude these players from the training course scheduled for October 8 to 14, 2012, in Yaoundé.
Cameroon, having suffered a 2-0 defeat in the first leg against Cape Verde, faces the daunting task of scoring three times in the return match to qualify for the CAN 2013 in South Africa.
The 26-man squad for Cameroon against Cape Verde includes:
Goalkeepers: Carlos Idriss Kameni (Malaga/Spain), Guy Ndy Assembe (Nancy/France), Joslain Mayebi (Wrexham/Wales)
Defenders: Benoit Angbwa (Rostov/Russia), Henri Bedimo (Montpellier/France), Allan Nyom (Granada/Spain), Gaétan Bong (Valenciennes/France), Pierre Wome (Canon de Yaoundé/Cameroon), Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille/France ), Aurélien Chedjou (Lille/France), Jean Armel Kana Biyik (Rennes/France), Dany Nounkeu (Galatasaray/Turkey), Joël Matip (Schalke 04/Germany)
Midfielders: Alexandre Song (FC Barcelona/Spain), Modeste Mbami (Al Ittihad/Saudi Arabia), Junior Olle Olle (Varbergs BoIS/Sweden), Achille Emana (Al Ahli Dubai/United Arab Emirates), Jean II Makoun (Rennes/France), Willie Overtoom (Heracles Almelo/Netherlands), Patrick Mevoungou Mekoulou (Admira Wacker/Austria)
Forwards: Samuel Eto’o (Anji Makhachkala/Russia), Achille Webo (Istanbul BB/Turkey), Vincent Aboubakar (Valenciennes/France), Joël Babanda (Union de Douala/Cameroon), Fabrice Olinga (Malaga/Spain), Idrissou Mohamadou (Kaiserslautern/Germany){jcomments on}
