On October 12 at 7 pm (Moscow time), the VTB Arena – Dinamo stadium in Moscow will host a friendly match between Russia and Cameroon. The Cameroonian national team is seen as one of the strongest on the African continent having participated 18 times in the final phase of the African Cup of Nations.
The Central African country became Olympic champion in 2000 and earned five African championships (in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, and 2017). Additionally, it won two silver medals (in 1986 and 2008) and two bronze medals (in 1972 and 2021).
The team, also known as the Indomitable Lions, has participated in the final phase of the World Cup seven times, but their hour of glory came in 1990 in Italy, where they reached the quarter-finals under the leadership of Soviet coach Valery Nepomnyashchy and with striker Roger Milla who scored four Cameroonian goals out of a total of seven.
Unpromising Beginnings
However, nothing predicted the success of the team in Italy. According to Valery Nepomnyashchy, during the training in the camp in Yugoslavia (which is closer to Italy), the team only had four well-worn footballs. Additionally, players had no shirts, shorts, or studs.
The team only received around twenty footballs and sport equipment thanks to the Yugoslav Federation. Adidas provided the official equipment just one week before the start of the competition.
The Feat of the Indomitable Lions
At the group stage, Cameroon beat the world champion, Argentina of Diego Maradona (1-0), Romania (2-1, double from Roger Milla) and lost to the Soviet Union (0- 4). In the round of 16, Cameroon beat Colombia (2-1 after extra time) and Roger Milla scored two goals again.
Cameroon became the first African country to qualify for the quarter-finals of a World Cup where they were eliminated by England. Even though Cameroon was leading a 2-1, England managed to score two goals from penalty shots. In retrospect, Valery Nepomnyashchy has raised doubts about the validity of one of the penalty shots.
Since then, no other coach has managed to lead the Indomitable Lions to this stage of the World Cup.