The U-20 men’s football squad will be absent in 2019 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations that will take place in Niger. Cameroon failed to qualify for the competition after losing to the Aiglons of Mali on a 4-1 aggregate. The Junior Lions suffered a 3-0 defeat in the return leg qualifier for the tournament on Sunday July 22, 2018 at Modibo Kieta Stadium in Bamako, Mali.



After being held to a 1-1 draw at home it was expected that Head coach, Christophe Oumarou and his boys would work hard to improve on their winning strategies and do better in Mali. However, the team had a more difficult time in Mali.



Mali’s goals were scored by Hadji Dramé (28th minute) Mohamed Camara (59th minute) and Touré (77th minute). Cameroon’s ousting from the race did not come as a surprise given their performance in the first leg in Yaounde one week ago.



From the performance of the team many begin to wonder how the players for the U-20 squad were selected and even the quality of the officials in charge of the selection. It is clear that Cameroon had slimmer chances of qualifying as their opponents were playing on home ground.



Apart from that half of the Malian team players were part of team that played the U-17 AFCON in Gabon and the U-17 World Cup in India last year. That alone is proof that Malians master the techniques and are more experienced in international competitions as compared to the Junior Lions of Cameroon most of whom are novices in the international scene.



Defensive midfielder, Boris Enow said it was not an easy match because Mali were playing in their country. He promised that the team will continue to work harder so that in future competitions they will do better. Team captain, Frank Fomeyem said the team had a good start but they did not make use of their chances.



Following the results of the weekend qualifiers Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, South Africa, Senegal and Niger have qualified for the final round of the 2019 U-20 AFCON. The last qualifiers will be played between Ghana and Benin in August, 2018.



There is urgent need to revamp the national selection if the future must be better. A competitive youth championship is also imperative.



Elizabeth MOSIMA

 

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