Everything about Cameroon was off in their Group E match against Japan. Cameroon were the favorite to win going into this match. Some analysts had even rated the Cameroonian team as the most likely African team to progress farther in the competition, but the Cameroon on display today was not the Cameroon most expected.

A physically strong looking side, a quality that should have given them an added advantage over Japan, besides being the more experienced side, the Indomitable Lions, as they are known, were mostly toothless in this match. It was a side that looked old and out of sorts. Their physicality translated into a flat-footed performance, which was also true technically, where for 80 percent of the match, they played in the middle of the field, resulting in congested affair that thwarted cogent movement and attack. This suited the Japanese naturally, who exploited the congested midfield to advantage and then sneaked in a goal towards the end of the first half of the match and thereafter resorted to a defensive game.

Rather than change their tactics in the second half, Cameroon played much of the same congested game on resumption. The goalkeeper launched the ball to the middle, time after time, even though each time this did not benefit his side. Samuel Eto'o, besides being effectively caged by the Japanese defense, bore the weight of his side on his shoulders, playing wider on the right flank and often much deeper in his own half, even taking throw-ins himself. All these means he wasn't free to play a portent attacking role. (I foresee that the same fate will befall Cote d'Ivorie's Didier Drogba if he eventually plays.) Cameroon essentially lacked a play maker. It wasn't until Geremi and Idrissou were introduced into the game in the last quarter of the game that Cameroon began to look more alive.

With this loss, the Cameroonian coach may be headed for a sack. It is unlikely that his contract will be renewed by the Cameroon Football Federation if his side crashes out of the competition at this stage. Now his decision to bench the side's veteran goalkeeper, Idriss Kamenin, and the in-form Alexander Song raises more questions and he may live to regret it. It is now more likely than not that Cameroon are going to be eliminated at the group stage. The Danish side that lost to the Netherlands are not a push over at all. They are more likely to beat Cameroon than not, and the most Cameroon can expect from their meeting with the Netherlands is a draw; but then one should never say never.

One last thing that was off with Cameroon in this match was their jersey. While the top looked good and form fitting, emphasizing as always their physicality, the shorts looked terribly out of fashion, a hark back to the 80s and 90s style that didn't quite come off. The oversized cleaning instruction tag only added to the sorry look of the shorts by hanging out, making the hapless players look as though they had little tails in their behinds. All said, this was a bad day for Cameroon.


See my other analysis at http://sinyoar..com/ especially my analysis of the Super Eagle's State of Decline. While there, please leave comments.