Samuel Eto’o was elated when the Kenyan referee Peter Waweru blew his whistle to bring the game to an end at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat.
The Indomitable Lions defeated Bafana Bafana of South Africa 2-1 in the round of 16 stage to book a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament against all odds.
Samuel Eto’o, before December 2025, had been at loggerheads with the Cameroonian Sports Ministry, Marc Brys, the then head coach of the team and had been accused of deliberately omitting experienced players like Andre Onana and Vincent Aboubakar, who had been the country’s best striker since Eto’o retired.
Also, they had lost to Congo D.R. in the play-off of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, ending their dream to travel to the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Responsibility was given to Nohou Tolo Nohou to lead the inexperienced Che Malone Junior of USM and Samuel Kotto of Genk at the back.
Carlos Baleba was tasked to lead from midfield, and the Manchester United man, Bryan Mbeumo, to lead the attack of Etta Eyong and one of the revelations of the tournament, Christian Koffane.
Many Cameroonians and African football fans lost faith in the Indomitable Lions being competitive in Morocco, but David Pagou, the Coton Sport Garoua head coach who has been at the helm for less than 40 days, has impressively organised the team, and they have reached the quarter-final with a semi-final berth in sight now.
Cameroon have beaten Gabon, Mozambique and South Africa and drawn with Cote d’Ivoire in the four games played thus far in Morocco
They have suddenly had an identity – the Cameroonians are so direct to the extent that they always want to be in the opposition’s half with a few touches.
They will face host nation Morocco, which looks to be under pressure to end its almost 50-year wait for the AFCON trophy.
The Indomitable Lions have prevented host nations from progressing to the next stage of the tournament on seven occasions, so Morocco must watch out for them.
How Cameroon have eliminated the host nation
- Côte d’Ivoire in 1984 (2-0 in group stage)
- Morocco 1988 (1-0 in semi-finals)
- Senegal 1992 (1-0 quarter finals)
- Ghana-Nigeria 2000 (2-2, won 4-3 on penalties in the finals against Nigeria)
- Mali 2002 (3-0 in semi finals)
- Ghana 2008 (1-0 in semi finals)
- Gabon 2017 (0-0 in group stage)
Walid Regraui and his charges were in full confidence ahead of the tournament, but are now showing humility after being twice threatened by Mali and Tanzania. The two games demonstrated Morocco’s vulnerability.
Cameroon have won the competition on five occasions, and last won it in 2017 in Gabon when they defeated Egypt 2-1.
Morocco, on the other hand, won it in 1976, and 14th March 2026 will be exactly 50 years since they won the trophy.
The Atlas Lions must watchout for Caneroon who are the ultimate serial host nation killers.
They have shot down Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon and Morocco themselves, making them fearless whenever they face a host nation.
