In case of victory the lions will clinch their qualification spot for the 2017 AFCON.
The Indomitable lions of Cameroon will today face Mauritania in a crucial encounter counting for the last but one playing day of the qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup f nations to take place in Gabon next year. The encounter is even more important because in case of victory, the Cameroon will automatically qualify for the continental football jamboree even before the last day of play on September 2nd when they play host to Gambia in Yaounde.
As it stands, Cameroon is leading Group M with eight points in four outings however with Mauritania turning the heat on them with seven points. South Africa is distant third with barely two points while the Benjamin of the group is Gambia with two points. While the dream is lost for South Africa and Gambia, Cameroon and Mauritania are the only contenders for the group’s ticket to Gabon which makes today’s match decisive for both countries.
The past confrontation between the countries is in favour in Cameroon as the indomitable lions began their campaign for the 2017 AFCON with a narrow 1-0 victory in Yaounde over the Mauritanians. The lone goal of that encounter was fetched for Cameroon by Vincent Aboubakar. Cameroon will be facing the encounter with a positive mind frame as the 2-3 defeat conceded against France in a friendly on Monday is viewed as a victory as the Lions were far from ridiculous putting up one of their best performances of recent times.
This new spirit in the Lions has been injected by the new coach of the Lions, Hugo Broos who has so far demonstrated no complacency in discipline and opened the doors of the national team to the fittest not minding whether the players is a professional or not.
However, the performance against France could be poisoned gift given that it may make the lions to face Mauritania with a spirit of superiority and end up losing the encounter. Memories of the heroic performance against Germany prior to the 2014 World Cup are rife, when the lions put up a brave show raising expectations that they were going to do wonders in Brazil but ended up making a mockery of themselves.
The watch word therefore should be prudence and discipline as it is known that surprise can beat even the strongest. With tactical discipline and concentration as demonstrated during the first half of the friendly against France, Cameroon can put any team in the world in difficulty.
Cameroon has so far known an unbeaten run in the qualifiers for the 2017 AFCON. They began with a one-nil victory over Mauritania in Yaounde on June 14, 2015, and then proceeded to beat Gambia in their own stronghold in Bakau on an identical one-victory but enough to ensure the three points of the game. The greatest opposition has so far in the campaign came from South Africa who succeeded in pulling a draw with Cameroon on home and away basis.
In the away leg in Limbe on May 26th, the Bafana Bafana stunned Cameroon with a 2-2 draw and three days later in South Africa separated on a zero-all-tie. It will therefore be catastrophic should Cameroon let qualification slip throw their fingers at this stage, having come so far. Mauritania is the last hurdle to cross to Gabon and as the saying goes, the darkest hour of the night is just before dawn.
