The 3rd Round of the Intertoto Cup was completed over the past weekend and several Cameroon players were in action. One of the biggest upsets of the Cup so far was Racing Genk of Belgium’s victory, on away goals, over Borussia Dortmund after Genk’s 2-1 win in Dortmund. Starting for Genk were Eric Matoukou at centerback and Justice Wamfor (photo) at defensive midfield. In fact it was Wamfor’s pass which was headed in for Genk’s opening goal.
Matoukou and Wamfor have started all 4 games Genk has played in the Intertoto Cup. There were reports earlier this summer of other Belgian clubs being interested in Wamfor but Genk have turned down those clubs and appear to have given him a starting job for the coming season. Meanwhile Matoukou also seems to have sewn up a starting position in Genk’s defence and he could be a player to watch this year as Cameroon continues it’s search for alternatives at centerback.
FC Thun of Switzerland, where Armand Deumi and Samuel Ojong play, lost 1-3 to Hamburg of Germany (3-5 on aggregate to the Germans). Deumi, as he has done in all of Thune’s Intertoto matches, started at centerback and Ojong has frequently been used as an offensive spark off the bench. Ojong came in as a sub in the 65th minute in the 2nd leg match against Hamburg. Ojong did score, however, in Thune’s upset victory in the previous round of the Cup when his club beat Wolfsburg of Germany.
Lille of France tied 2-2 with Dynamo Minsk of Belarus but won 4-3 on aggregate. Jean Makoun entered the game as a substitute at halftime. New Lille signing Benoit Angbwa did not play.
Lille and Racing Genk will both be playing in the semi-final round of the Intertoto Cup. The first leg of the semifinal round, which will lead to determining the three entrants from the Intertoto Cup to this season’s UEFA Cup, will be played Wednesday 28 July. Matoukou and Wamfor are expected to start for Genk. It is not yet known whether Makoun or Angbwa will play for Lille. We will later update the Cameroonian players’ performance in this coming round of the Intertoto Cup.
By Martin COUTLER, martin@camfoot.com
