Cameroon hope to be on song with Choupo-Moting at World Cup

Cameroon will look to Bayern Munich’s in-form striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Napoli midfielder Frank Zambo Anguissa to try and emulate their 1990 predecessors in reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.

Rigobert Song named his squad late on Wednesday with perhaps the only surprise his decision to omit defender Michael Ngadeu, who was an integral part of the team that were crowned African champions for a fifth time in 2017.

Song — who played in four World Cup finals and has the dubious distinction as one of two players (Zinedine Zidane the other) to be red carded twice in football’s showpiece — can have realistic hopes of guiding them into the knockout rounds.

Choupo-Moting has been in electric form for Bayern, the 33-year-old scoring nine times in his last eight matches for the German champions.

Anguissa, 26, has been equally influential for Napoli as they set the pace in Serie A and topped their Champions League group ahead of Liverpool.

Cameroon open their campaign in Group G against Switzerland on November 24 followed by a clash with Serbia four days later and end with the toughest of the lot Brazil on December 2.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Andre Onana (Inter Milan/ITA), Devis Epassy (Abha/KSA), Simon Ngapandouetnbu (Marseille/FRA).

Defenders: Fai Collins (Al Taee/KSA), Nicolas Nkoulou (Aris Thessaloniki/GRE), Enzo Ebosse (Udinese/ITA), Olivier Mbaizo (Philadelphia Union/USA), Nouhou Tolo (Seattle Sounders/USA), Jean-Charles Castelletto (Nantes/FRA), Cristopher Wooh (Rennes/FRA).

Midfielders: Samuel Oum Gouet (Mechelen/BEL), Martin Hongla (Hellas Verona/ITA), Frank Zambo Anguissa (Napoli/ITA), Pierre Kunde Malong (Olympiakos/GRE), Olivier Ntcham (Swansea/WAL), Gael Ondoua (Hanover 96/GER).

Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Al Nasr Riyadh/KSA), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford/ENG), Jean-Pierre Nsame (Young Boys/SUI), Georges-Kévin N’Koudou (Besiktas/TUR), Moumi Ngamaleu (Dynamo Moscow/RUS), Karl Toko Ekambi (Lyon/FRA), Christian Bassogog (Shanghai Shenhua/CHN), Souaibou Marou (Coton Sport de Garoua/CMR), Jerome Ngom (Colombe sportive du Dja and Lobo/CMR), Eric Choupo Moting (Bayern Munich/GER).