ACTUALITE |
10.06.2005
Indomitable Lions back in the hunt
by FIFAworldcup.com
With a stylish 4-1 win over Benin in Cotonou on Saturday, Cameroon capped an excellent weekend by closing the gap on group leaders Côte d`Ivoire. Taking full advantage of the Elephants` stalemate in Tripoli the day before, the Indomitable Lions moved to within two points of their rivals after having seemed well out of the race at the turn of the year.
Few would have put money on a turnaround in the country`s fortunes after Cameroon slumped to defeat in Cairo in September 2004. That setback left Samuel Eto`o and Co four points back from the Ivorians and no longer in control of their own destiny on the road to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™. And their hopes faded further a month later when they scraped a lucky draw in Sudan that practically sealed the fate of former boss Winfried Schafer. The German coach was finally relieved of his duties in November, following a morale-sapping 3-0 reverse to the Germany in a friendly in Leipzig.
"We`ll definitely have to win our match in Abidjan, but we need to be ready to win our four other games as well," explained Schafer`s replacement Artur Jorge when he took over the role in January. And, so far, the Portuguese tactician has fulfilled his aim with two victories in qualifying for Germany 2006.
No doubt buoyed by Côte d`Ivoire`s frustrating result 24 hours earlier, Jorge`s charges rapidly set about putting Benin under pressure on Saturday. It fell to captain Rigobert Song to finally make that pressure tell, and he showed his team-mates the route to goal with a header in the 20th minute.
The Indomitable Lions survived a scare when goalkeeper Hamidou Souleymanou kept out a penalty at the other end, but they bared their claws in the second half and secured maximum points thanks to strikes from Achille Webo, Geremi and Eto`o from the penalty spot to finish the game with a well-earned 4-1 victory.
Famous for leaving things late in qualification campaigns gone by, Cameroon are now gearing up for the eagerly awaited showdown in Abidjan that looks certain to decide who travels to Germany from Group 3. But before they can worry about that, first on the agenda is another crucial qualifier at home to Libya on 19 June.
Determined not to put a foot wrong in that match, Jorge and his staff have summoned the squad to the capital Yaounde for training sessions from 12 June onwards. For once, they will be able to go over every last detail with a set of players used to meeting up at the last minute.
That foresight could well prove decisive up against a Libyan side fresh from holding the Ivorians to a creditable draw. The spotlight in the group will then switch immediately to Abidjan, where the Elephants take on Egypt, another team who relaunched their campaign at the weekend by beating Sudan 6-1.
A one-hour time difference between Abidjan and Yaounde means Côte d`Ivoire`s match kicks off as soon as Cameroon end theirs, leaving the Indomitable Lions without the luxury of making calculations. They have but one option – a stampede for all three points.
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