CAMEROON – PANAMA | Friday 11:00 am
Of the various African selections, this is one that has always exerted an undeniable fascination. It is no coincidence, in fact, that Cameroon can count on an illustrious supporter in the upcoming World Cup: we are talking about former Italian national team goalkeeper Gigi Buffon, who recently admitted to rooting for the Indomitable Lions, probably because of his childhood idol, the legendary goalkeeper N’Kono. Coached by former Salernitana player Rigobert Song, who has been in charge since last February, Choupo-Moting and his teammates managed to snatch a pass for Qatar 2022 at the end of a heart-stopping play-off against heavy favourites Algeria. They won the return match 2-1 away after losing the first leg 0-1 and qualified thanks to the away goals rule.
Song, despite his half-flop in the last African Cup of Nations – Cameroon only finished fourth in the edition he had the privilege of hosting – can count on several interesting elements: in addition to the centre-forward who is doing wonders for Bayern Munich, there are also the ‘Neapolitan’ Zambo Anguissa, the Inter player Onana, the former Torino player N’Koulou and the striker Toko Ekambi of Lyon. In Group G they are likely to play the role of the loose cannon, in one of the most balanced groups, which also includes Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland. Ahead of their debut against the Swiss, scheduled for next Thursday, Cameroon will face the Panama selection in a friendly match in Abu Dhabi. Thomas Christiansen’s Central Americans did not qualify for the World Cup and have been sparring with a number of national teams in the Middle East in recent weeks, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Onana
The Prediction
The Cameroon victory should come on time in this friendly to better prepare for the potentially already decisive debut against Switzerland. At least two goals in total are likely.
Cameroon-Panama
probable line-ups.
- CAMEROON (4-3-3): Onana; Fai, Castelletto, Nkoulou, Nouhou; Hongla, Gouet, Zambo Anguissa; Toko Ekambi, Aboubakar, Choupo Moting.
- PANAMA (3-4-2-1): Guerra; Ramos, Cordoba, Cummings; Anderson, Welch, Godoy, Phillips; Barcenas, Quintero; Stephens.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
