Onana and teammates' disastrous defeat

The 0-1 defeat to Cape Verde on the evening of September 9 was not just a simple fall, but also exposed the instability surrounding Cameroonian football.

Onana has not been in good form from club to national team.

From the upper hand with a squad of expensive stars, the “Indomitable Lions” have now pushed themselves into a position where they have to cling to a slim hope in the race for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. For Cameroon, the recent defeat has made fans furious, they criticized Andre Onana - who is said to have made a mistake that led to the loss.

When the advantage is thrown away

Before the match, Cameroon ranked second in Group D with 15 points, just one point behind Cape Verde in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Africa. A win would have put them in first place and on the path to a direct ticket to the biggest football festival on the planet. But instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, they left the Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde empty-handed, where 15,000 spectators were cheering enthusiastically for the home team.

That defeat left Cameroon behind, with Cape Verde increasing the gap to four points. With only two matches left in the qualifying round, the chance of going straight to the World Cup is almost gone. Even the play-off ticket is under threat, with Libya closing in with just one point less. A stumble could drag Cameroon from candidate status to outsider status.

What has disappointed experts and fans the most is the contrast between personnel potential and actual performance. Cameroon fielded Bryan Mbeumo - a striker for Manchester United, valued at over 56 million euros. They also have Carlos Baleba, a young midfielder from Brighton worth over 100 million euros, who has been pursued by the "Red Devils" throughout the summer of 2025; Jackson Tchatchoua of Wolves; and Andre Onana - the goalkeeper who started in the Champions League final for Inter Milan.

Cameroon team fell to Cape Verde.

According to Transfermarkt , the total value of Cameroon's squad is 179.95 million euros, seven times that of Cape Verde's 23.5 million euros. Mbeumo alone is worth twice as much as the entire squad. But in the end, it is not the transfer value that will decide.

In 90 minutes, Cape Verde had 39% possession, 9 shots (4 on target) and scored the only goal. Cameroon, despite having many good players, only had 8 shots, of which 2 were on target. The difference is not in the price tag, but in desire and performance.

Obsession off the pitch

If you look at the statistics alone, many people will think that this failure is a temporary one. But Cameroon's problems go deeper than that. The country's football is in crisis at the top.

Federation President Samuel Eto'o - a legend who once brought pride to the country - is currently surrounded by a series of allegations of corruption, manipulation and embezzlement. These scandals have led to doubts, caused internal turmoil and directly affected the players' psychology.

In a context where stability is needed to enter the most important qualifying round, the team has become the center of controversy outside of professional activities. The shadow of Eto'o - who was once an icon - now covers the achievements on the field, causing solidarity to falter.

Mbeumo could not save Cameroon.

Cameroon was once Africa's leading team at the World Cup. The image of Roger Milla dancing beside the flagpole or the Eto'o generation that once struck fear into many big teams is still fresh in memory. But modern football does not live only on the past. Achievements are built on preparation, reasonable tactics and fighting spirit.

Cape Verde - a small team with a limited budget - proved that. They did not have any bright stars, but they possessed cohesion, tactical discipline and fighting spirit. In a pivotal match, that was what defeated the star-studded Cameroon.

With this defeat, Cameroon must win both of their final qualifying matches and hope that Cape Verde stumbles. In other words, they have lost their right to decide. In a short tournament where mistakes are costly, Cameroon now faces a worst-case scenario: missing out on the World Cup for the first time in many consecutive appearances.

The defeat to Cape Verde was therefore not just a stumble, but a warning. An expensive, star-studded team can still become harmless if it lacks cohesion and is distracted by peripheral issues. For Cameroon, this defeat may be recalled as the turning point that turned the “Indomitable Lions” from a familiar force in the World Cup to an outsider.

Source: https://znews.vn/tran-thua-tai-hai-cua-onana-va-dong-doi-post1584030.html