Cameroon is faced with the difficult task of needing to beat Brazil at the Lusail Iconic Stadium to progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup on Friday, December 2, 2022.
Having picked up just one point from their first two games, the Indomitable Lions must win and hope for either a draw or for Serbia to beat Switzerland by a one-goal margin in the other game in Group G, while Selecao of Brazil only needs a point to finish top.
Cameroon kicked off the group stage with a 1#0 defeat to Switzerland, with Breel Embolo scoring the only goal of the game against the country of his birth, in the eighth straight World Cup defeat for the African side.
Despite at one point looking like they were heading for an early exit from the tournament, Rigobert Song’s side fought back from a 3#1 deficit to tie the game up at 3#3 against Serbia.
As expected, Brazil has booked their place in the round of 16, winning their first two games at the World Cup for the first time since 2010, in which they reached the quarter-final.
Selecao is yet to concede a goal in the tournament, kicking off with a 2#0 victory against Serbia, in which Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison bagged a second-half brace to wrap up the three points.
After that, Tite’s side left it late but again secured a victory against Switzerland, with the goal coming from Casemiro to seal a 1#0 victory.
Cameroon and Brazil last met in competitive action in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, in which Brazil emerged 4#1 winners thanks to a Neymar double and additional goals from Fred and Fernandinho.
TEAM NEWS
Andre Onana will not feature in goal for Cameroon, having been sent home for disciplinary reasons according to a communique from the Cameroon Football Federation.
After missing training on Thursday, Nicolas Nkoulou and Jean Charles Castelletto are like to miss the match against Brazil.
On their part, Brazil has several players unavailable due to injury, with Alex Sandro the latest player to be ruled out after undergoing a scan regarding the hip issue that forced him off against Switzerland.
Also, key players like Neymar and Danillo are set to miss out due to an ankle injury that ruled them out of the last game.
Cameroon’s possible starting lineup:
Epassy; Fai, Castelletto, Wooh, Tolo; Ntcham, Anguissa, Kunde; Aboubakar, Choupo-Moting, Mbuemo
Brazil’s possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Militao, Marquinhos, Silva, Telles; Casemiro, Guimaraes, Paqueta; Antony, Jesus, Vinicius Jr
Key Stats
– Brazil has won five of their six meetings with Cameroon in all competitions (Lost 1), most recently a 1#0 friendly win in November 2018. The Selecao have won both previous FIFA World Cup games between the sides, 3#0 in 1994 and 4#1 in 2014.
– Cameroon’s first-ever FIFA World Cup game (Peru in 1982) and first-ever FIFA World Cup victory (Argentina in 1990) came against South American opponents. Overall they have won two, drawn two, and lost two of their World Cup games against teams from the continent, with both defeats coming against Brazil.
– Brazil have won all seven of their FIFA World Cup matches against African sides, scoring 20 goals and conceding just twice.
– Brazil is yet to face a single shot on target at the 2022 World Cup, the first team to achieve this feat in their first two games at an edition since France in 1998. The fewest shots on target faced by a team in a group stage since 1966 are two by Argentina in 1998. The Selecao have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six World Cup matches, failing only in their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Belgium in 2018. They had only kept four clean sheets in their previous 16 games before this run.
– Brazil are unbeaten in their last 17 World Cup group stage matches (W14 D3), a tournament record. They are looking to win all three of their group matches in a single edition for the first time since 2006.
With bookmakers giving Cameroon just an 11% win possibility in the match, the boys of Coach Rigobert Song will have to be on top of their game if they want to qualify for their Round of 16.
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