Nigeria made it three wins from three in 2018 World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 thrashing of African champions Cameroon in Uyo. Earlier on Friday, Ghana scored in the 85th minute to earn a 1-1 draw against visiting Congo in Group E.

Odion Ighalo, John Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and Kelechi Iheanacho were all on target for Nigeria in their victory. The win means the Super Eagles top Group B on nine points while Cameroon have just two after three matches.

Zambia and Algeria both have a point each and they play their third match, against one another, on Saturday in Lusaka. Nigeria took the lead on 29 minutes when Ighalo latched onto a ball over the top from captain John Mikel Obi before drilling home.

Ighalo was then booked for revealing a T-shirt in support of his international colleague Carl Ikeme, who is suffering from leukaemia. Just before half-time, a corner from Moses was turned in by his former Chelsea team-mate Mikel Obi as he stabbed into the roof of the net from close range.

Moses scored the third in the 55th minute after an exchange of passes with Moses Simon. The rout for Cameroon, who won the Africa Cup of Nations in February, was completed when Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho stooped to head home a cross from Ogenyi Onazi with 14 minutes left.

Culled from the BBC

The coach of the Indomitable Lions, Hugo Broos started preparations for the double confrontation against the Super Eagles of Nigeria today Monday, August 28, 2017 on the grounds of the military stadium in Yaoundé counting for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers with only 10 players.

Cameroon Concord News understands that of the 23 pre-selected players, only ten have so far responded and they include Georges Mandjeck, Adolphe Teikeu, Jules Goda, Castelleto Jean Charles, Fabrice Olinga, Arnaud Djoum, Benjamin Moukandjo, Christian Bassogog, Georges Bokwe and Frantz Pangop- the only local player among the troops.

With this reduced staff, the technical crew carried out a minor training session today Monday pending the arrival tomorrow Tuesday of a large wave of players. Captain Benjamin Moukandjo and his team-mates will hold an intensive practice session tomorrow at the Mont Febe hotel and then to the military stadium.

Our senior football correspondent say the African champions will leave for Nigeria on Thursday, 31 August, 24 hours before the first leg of the double confrontation against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The return leg is scheduled to take place in Yaoundé on Monday the 4th of September from 18:30 at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium.

By Sonne Peter
Cameroon Concord News

Nigeria have suffered a blow ahead of their 2018 World Cup qualifier against La Republique du Cameroun in Uyo on Friday, after Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi withdrew from the squad with a thigh muscle strain.

The 21-year-old will also miss the away leg against African champions La Republique in Yaounde on 4 September, according to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Iwobi was due to join the Super Eagles training camp on Monday after Arsenal’s Premier League game at Liverpool on Sunday.

Iwobi, the nephew of legendary Nigeria star Jay-Jay Okocha, had played in Nigeria’s first two World Cup qualifiers against Zambia and Algeria, scoring in a 2-1 win in Zambia in October last year.

He has been replaced in Nigeria’s squad by CSKA Moscow striker Aaron Samuel, who was placed on standby last week. Samuel made the last of seven international appearances two years ago.

Source: BBC

The pressure is mounting on the Indomitable Lions, who have less than four days to prepare for the 3rd and 4th qualifying days of the 2018 World Cup qualifying against the Super Eagles. The first leg of the double confrontation against the Super Eagles holds on August 31 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. Seen as a decisive match by the likes of striker Benjamin Moukandjo, the Indomitable Lions have their work cut out against the Eagles, who top Group B with six points, after two wins against Algeria and Zambia.

Bassogog Cameroon stay second in the group standings, with two points after two draws against Algeria and Zambia. Feeling the pressure, as only group winners qualify for the World Cup in Russia, the Indomitable Lions are desperate to get a positive result in Uyo, which will be seen as a boost ahead of the return leg four days later in Cameroon.

With a draw, the reigning African champions will cut the deficit on Eagles to three, but fear of being overtaken on the table by Algeria or Zambia, should either side win their match. But the best case scenario for Cameroon is a win in Uyo, which will see them cut Eagles lead to one point, enough to put their foes under pressure and making for an explosive return leg on September 4 in Yaounde, which Coach Hugo Broos side will be confident of winning.

Players of the Indomitable Lions see the two matches in Uyo and Yaounde as the litmus tests that will decide their World Cup hopes. And the choice of players for the games is also troubling Belgian-born coach, Broos. With attackers, who still struggle to satisfy the yearning of fans for goals, the Indomitable Lions seem more of ah defensive unit than a attacking force. There is no shortage of examples to illustrate this point.

At the last African Cup of Nations in Gabon, of the six strikers used at the tournament, only Vincent Aboubakar, Christian Bassogog and Benjamin Moukandjo found the net, accounting for three goals out of the seven registered by Cameroon. Central defender, Michael Ngadeu, with two goals, was Cameroon’s top scorer of the competition. This is a clear departure from previous years, when the trio of Samuel Eto’o, Patrick Mboma and Joseph Job, who ended past AFCON competitions with nearly ten goals as was the case with AFCON 2000 jointly-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana and the 2002 edition in Mali.

Observers feel a not-too prolific attack like that of this crop of Indomitable Lions can certainly do with some new blood and initiative Coach Broos believes the return of Clinton N’jié and Eric Maxime Choupo- Moting might address the issue, which admits is giving him sleepless nights. “Of course, I worry over the scarcity of goals from my strikers. With new additions, hopefully, the problem will be solved”, said Broos. The Marseille striker had a very good pre-season preparation, scoring five goals in as many matches for the Ligue I outfit.

Having scored three goals in the current French Ligue 1campaign, N’jié intends to play a leading role in the looming games against the Super Eagles. He is co – top scorer with Mariano Diaz of Lyon and world record signing, Neymar of PSG On Maxime Choupo- Moting, who plays for Stoke in the English Premier League, hopes are high that Cameroon will find a regular scorer in the youngster. Fans eyes are now turned firmly on the strike force of the Indomitable Lions to see if they can finally deliver the goals when they confront the Super Eagles on September 1st and 4th in Uyo and Yaounde respectively.

Culled from the Vanguard

FIFA has appointed a normalisation committee to run the Cameroonian Football Association (FECAFOOT) for the second time in four years. The latest intervention of world football’s governing body comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a decision made by the Olympic and Sports Committee of Cameroon’s Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration to annul the electoral process that saw the current executive committee of FECAFOOT appointed in 2015.

According to a statement released by FIFA on Wednesday, recent attempts to reconcile football stakeholders in Cameroon have failed. The normalisation committee will be charged with running the daily affairs of FECAFOOT, drafting new statutes and conducting elections to form a new FECAFOOT executive committee.

Comprising a joint FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegation, the committee’s remit is not expected to extend beyond February 2018. Tombi A Roko Sidiki was elected president of FECAFOOT in September 2015, a prior normalisation committee having been in place since elections were scrapped amid infighting in May 2013.

Despite the issues with its governing body, Cameroon’s national team won the Africa Cup of Nations in February and the country is due to stage the tournament in 2019, although a scheduled CAF inspection to determine its readiness was postponed this month following the withdrawal from the process of international auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Source: The worldgame

World football governing body, FIFA decided on the 23rd of August 2017 to appoint a standardization committee within the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), in accordance with Art. 14, para. 1 (a) and s. 8, para. 2 of the FIFA Statutes-a decision that vindicates Abduramane Hamadou putting an end to the CPDM-Issa Hayatou mafia that has been destroying Cameroon football.

FIFA said in a press release that the decision is linked to the confirmation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) of the judgment of the Conciliation and Arbitration Chamber of the Cameroonian Olympic and Sports Committee, which canceled the electoral procedure that led to the election in 2015 of the current Executive Committee of FECAFOOT and, on the other hand, recent unsuccessful attempts by FIFA to bring the different stakeholders of Cameroonian football together.

The FIFA mandate of the committee includes the following tasks:

Manage the current affairs of FECAFOOT;

Develop, in consultation with all stakeholders, new statutes that are in compliance with the FIFA Statutes and Standards as well as with the compulsory national legislation in force;

Revise the statutes of the regional and departmental leagues and ensure their conformity with the statutes of FECAFOOT;

Identify delegates from the FECAFOOT General Assembly as well as regional and departmental leagues;

Organize the elections of a new executive committee of FECAFOOT.

The standardization committee will consist of an appropriate number of members, who will be appointed by a joint FIFA and CAF mission in the very near future. It will also work as an electoral commission and none of its members will be eligible for the posts to be filled in the elections. The mandate of the Standardization Committee shall expire on 28 February 2018 at the latest.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon star Vincent Aboubakar is firing on all cylinders ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifier between his national team and the Super Eagles at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

Super Eagles defenders will have to be at their best as the Porto striker who fired a hat-trick on Sunday against Moreirense is now the leading scorer in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. His hat-trick on Sunday took his league tally for the season to four goals.

According to sports daily O Jogo, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal scouts were among the 46,509 spectators at the Estádio Do Dragão.

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Porto’s Algeria international Yacine Brahimi this summer, while Manchester United and City have monitored his progress in the past.

Juventus, two French and two Spanish clubs also sent their scouts to monitor the game between Porto and Moreirense.

Source: Vanguard

Former Super Eagles coach, Austin Eguavoen is certain Nigeria’s opponents in the September 1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Cameroon will not go down easily in Uyo, even as he believes the Eagles will soar over their guests. Eguavoen Eguavoen who spoke with Sports Vanguard at the Greensprings Schools, Ajah where he is heading a technical crew in charge of the 2017 Camp GTBank said, “I am sure the Eagles will win the match in Uyo. We have all played against Cameroon before. Results can swing and there is this element of luck. But I must warn, we must not drop points at home. If we win, we will be a pole position to qualify for the World Cup, which is enough motivation for our players. Our players will not want to toy with the opportunity to go to the World Cup.

“The World Cup is a stage where a player’s profile rises, his market value is enhanced and these boys (Eagles) have shown hunger and thirst for World Cup glory.” He reasoned that pressure is on the Cameroonians who are down the ladder (second behind Nigeria) with four points difference will fight to the end. “Their strength lies in the physical aspect of the game because they are physical in all departments. They are down and will want to come out and attack in order to get a respectable result. But they will respect us because if they show no respect for the Eagles they will pay dearly for that.

“Cameroon will come out to play because I know their coach, Hugo Broos back in my playing days in Belgium. He too knows most of us including late Keshi, Oliseh among others. He once handled Club Brugge, where Amokachi once played for. Hugo likes attacking football and we all saw it during the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA Confederations Cup,” Eguavoen said.

Culled from Sports Vanguard