Cameroon head coach David Pagou has praised his players’ mental resilience after edging past South Africa in a hard-fought Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 encounter.
The Indomitable Lions booked their place in the quarterfinals of the 35th edition of AFCON with a tense 2–1 victory over Bafana Bafana, setting up a mouth-watering clash with hosts Morocco.
Speaking after the game, Pagou admitted the challenge posed by South Africa, describing the win as a test of character rather than just quality.
“There’s someone up there guiding us and showing us the way. We had some luck, so we will keep working, but our secret is that the star here is the whole team,” Pagou said, per Daily Sports.
“We will keep working hard on this, and that’s our catchphrase here. We are keeping a positive state of mind, that’s been our secret to success here in Morocco.”
Pagou revealed that Cameroon’s preparation began just days before the competition kicked off but insisted his side is growing stronger with each game.
“We started training on 16 December, a few days before the tournament, but we are on the right track, we have eliminated South Africa,” he added.
The Cameroonian tactician acknowledged the quality of the opposition, noting that South Africa pushed his team to their limits.
“We have suffered and now we can jubilant this victory, they have done well, but we have a strong state of mind, a team that wins, is the team who wants it the most, I knew South Africa has a good team, technically strong, collectively good. To beat a team like them you need a steel mentality.”
Cameroon will now turn their attention to a quarterfinal showdown against Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Friday, January 9.
