World Cup ’94 : WORLD CUP USA ’94 / GROUP B PREVIEW : Cameroon at a Glance
* COACH: Henri Michel.
* KEY PLAYERS: Francois Omam-Biyick, Alphonse Tchami, Stephen Tataw.
* STRENGTHS: The sheer exuberance and unpredictability of Cameroon’s play makes the team a pleasure to watch. The players have a gift for trying the unusual and the unexpected. They get speed, skill and firepower from Omam-Biyick and Tchami and solid defensive leadership from Tataw.
* WEAKNESSES: A chaotic situation at home, where the federation is bankrupt and politicians have meddled constantly in team affairs, has left Cameroon ill-prepared for this tournament. Of course, the same thing was true in 1990 and look what happened. Roger Milla, Cameroon’s hero of Italia ‘90, is back, but he’s 42 and shows it.
* WORLD CUP HISTORY: Two previous appearances. Record of 3-2-3. Went unbeaten in the first round in 1982 but still failed to advance. Best finish was reaching the quarterfinals in 1990.
* LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: Veterans Milla and goalkeeper Thomas N’Kono have each twice been chosen Africa’s player of the year--Milla in 1976 and 1990 and N’Kono in 1979 and 1982.
* OUTLOOK: Logic says this is the year Cameroon fails to get out of the first round, but the Africans have a habit of confounding the experts and could do so again. Their first-round opposition, however, is formidable. The Brazil-Cameroon match could be a classic. Sweden should be physically and tactically too strong. The Soviet Union trounced Cameroon, 4-0, in Italy last time around.
* PREDICTED FIRST-ROUND FINISH: Fourth.
ROSTER
No. Name Position 1 Joseph-Antoine Bell Goalkeeper 21 Thomas N’Kono Goalkeeper 22 Jacques Songo Goalkeeper 3 Rigobert Song Bahanag Defender 4 Samuel Ekeme Ndiba Defender 5 Victor Ndip Akem Defender 11 Emmanuel Kessack Defender 13 Raymond Kala Defender 14 Stephen Tataw Defender 15 Hans Agbo Defender 2 Andre Kana-Biyick Midfielder 6 Thomas Libih Midfielder 8 Emile M’bouh-M’bouh Midfielder 10 Louis Paul Mfede Midfielder 12 Paul Serge Loga Midfielder 17 Marc Vivien Foe Midfielder 18 Jean Pierre Fiala Midfielder 7 Francois Omam-Biyick Forward 9 Roger Milla Forward 16 Alphonse Tchami Forward 19 David Embe Forward 20 George Mouyeme Forward
