Frankly, Cameroon and Ivory Coast’s failure to progress beyond the First Round of the World Cup on a combined seven occasions is a bitterly disappointing statistic when you consider just how much talent both teams possessed.
The Indomitable Lions couldn’t make good on their promise of the early 2000s and in the early 2010s despite the presence of Africa’s greatest forward Samuel Eto’o while the Elephants’ vaunted generation failed to advance to the Round of 16 in spite of Yaya Toure’s midfield dynamism.
A young Eto’o made his debut in 1998 and featured in three more finals in 2002, 2010 and 2014.