Cameroon breathed a sigh of relief after Samuel Eto’o finally broke down a stubborn Saudi Arabia as the Indomitable Lions struggled through a game they were expected to win easily.
Cameroon breathed a sigh of relief after Samuel Eto’o finally broke down a stubborn Saudi Arabia as the Indomitable Lions struggled through a game they were expected to win easily.
Cameroon limp to victory
« Congratulations to Saudi Arabia; they fought very hard today, » said Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer.
« I would have loved it if they had fought hard against Germany. »
Problems
But Schafer admitted that his side had big problems in front of goal.
« We are not as strong as we should be, » he conceded.
« It was more difficult than we had expected, » agreed midfielder Marc Vivien Foe.
« We tried to calm things down in the second half. »
The result means that if Cameroon do not beat Germany, they face the prospect of elimination should the Republic of Ireland beat the Saudis by two goals on Tuesday.
Reaction from the Saudi Arabia camp
But Foe said the thought of going home early was not on the players’ minds.
« We still have a very good chance to go through with a win over Germany, » he argued.
And Schafer, who is himself German, said that his side would be doing everything possible to defeat his home nation.
« Germany will be the favourites, of course, they have more experience, more great games (behind them), » Schafer said.
« But I’m a Lion, I am coach of the Cameroon team and I really want to get to the second round… even against Germany. »
