Andre Onana dropped for second successive AFCON game in blow to Man United goalie

Andre Onana dropped for second successive AFCON game in blow to Man United goalie

Rene Otinga
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM
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A. Onana
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CAF African Nations Championship
Africa
  • Andre Onana looks set to miss a second successive AFCON game for Cameroon
  • The Manchester United goalie was named on the bench for the round of 16 clash against Nigeria
  • He joined Cameroon late from club duty and was forced to miss his nation’s opener

Andre Onana was dropped to the bench for a second successive Africa Cup of Nations clash as Cameroon Coach went for Fabrice Ondoa again.

The Manchester United goalie was initially dropped for Cameroon’s final group game against The Gambia as Rigobert Song’s side crucially won 3-2 to advance to the last 16 of the competition.

Andre Onana looks set to miss a second successive game for Cameroon.
Cameroon's starting XI vs Nigeria in the AFCON last 16 doees not feature Andre Onana. Photo: ISSOUF SANOGO.
Source: Getty Images

Despite doing his best to arrive in time for international duty, Onana has only featured once for his team in the competition as at January 27; in a 3-1 defeat against defending champions Senegal.

In an earlier press conference, Cameroon coach Song was asked the daunting questions about his goalkeeping selections, and he tried to be coy with his response.

"I have no problem with my goalkeepers. They are all competitive and ready to respond when they need to play. There is no controversy. They get along very well, he said, per GOAL.

Hours later, Song made another brave call by dropping Onana, who has been criticised this season for making high-profile mistakes at Manchester United.

Sports Brief earlier highlighted Cameroon’s goal-keeping options, and how Onana was the best-placed to represent the country, based on minutes played for his club alone.

But it seems Song fancies Ondoa, who happens to be Onana’s cousin.

Here is Cameroon’s starting XI to face Nigeria:

In goal: Fabrice Ondoa

Defence: Jean Charles Castelleto, Christopher Wooh, Oumar Gonzalez

Midfield: Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu, Oliver Ntcham, Frank Anguissa, Nouhou

Attack: Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, , Karl Toko Ekambi, Frank Magri.

How the game went

It was the Super Eagles who emerged victorious on Saturday, as Ademola Lookman’s brace secured a 2-0 win over Cameroon.

Ondoa was arguably at fault for Nigeria’s opener, as he failed to deal with Lookman’s fairly tame shot after some good work from Victor Osimhen.

The former England Under-21s forward then sealed the win in the 90th minute with an impressive volley from Calvin Bassey's cutback.

Drogba and Osimhen share heartwarming moment

Still on the Cameroon game, there was a heartwarming moment between Didier Drogba and Victor Osimhen after the game.

The two briefly engaged in a chat after the clash, with the whole interaction getting caught on camera

Osimhen is considered a modern-day legend in African football, while Drogba, in his heyday, was unplayable in attack.

Authors
Rene Otinga photo
Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.