Cameroon have become the first nation to be knocked out of the World Cup. Boasting a strong squad made up of a lot of European-based players more was expected of Paul Le Guen’s side. After a 1-0 loss to Japan they lost 2-1 to Denmark yesterday to sit rock bottom of Group E. They will play merely for pride in their final group match against the Netherlands later this week.
Cameroon played well against Denmark and took the lead 10 minutes into the match after a wayward pass from Christian Poulsen was played via Webo into Samuel Eto’o who finished well. Denmark were level after 33 minutes when a super 50 yard pass from Kjaer set Rommedahl in behind the Cameroon defence and he played a low cross in for Nicklas Bendtner to finish easily. Just after an hour of football Denmark took the lead as Rommedahl’s pace took him past Makoun and he slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
Cameroon had chances to score, Eto’o hit the post whilst Bassong, Emana (twice) and Idrissou all missed very good chances. Alex Song sat deep and was excellent for Cameroon, breaking up play and dictating the tempo. Eto’o played centrally (unlike his deployment out wide against Japan) and looked a constant threat. Cameroon were strong, organised and on top for a lot of the game but couldn’t add to their goal tally.
Cameroon coach, Paul Le Guen insists he won’t walk out on them, “I will not resign but you have given your view and I respect that. I don’t have any regrets and that’s not how I operate”. The Danish goalkeeper, Stoke’s Thomas Sorensen had a fine game in goal but even so, Le Guen felt his side didn’t make the most of the chances that came their way and he admitted that, “it’s a serious disappointment for both us and the Cameroonian nation as a whole”.
Before the World Cup, Cameroon were the highest ranked African side and were also the first African side to truly make their mark on the World Cup tournaments in 1990 with Roger Miller. Today they are the first nation and African side out of this World Cup.
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Tags: Cameroon, Denmark, Doron, Group E, SA2010, South Africa 2010, WC 2010, World Cup, World Cup 2010
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[...] Saturday ended with Denmark beating Cameroon 2-1 in an exciting game. Cameroon took the lead through Eto’o but that was pegged back by Bendtner. Rommedahl got the winning goal. The result was significant as Cameroon became the first country to be knocked out of the World Cup. [...]