Cameroon vs Gabon Prediction & Betting Tips (24 December)

The crisis that Cameroon is going through is deep. Indeed, coach Marc Brys was unceremoniously dismissed by his president, Samuel Eto'o, who preferred to appoint David Pagou as head of the team just a few weeks before the start of this competition. Consequently, the Indomitable Lions clearly lacked the serenity to concentrate on this tournament, especially since on a sporting level, they are also in difficulty. As proof, the Cameroonians failed to qualify for the World Cup by losing 1-0 in the semi-final of the play-offs against the Democratic Republic of Congo last month. Before that, they had taken 2nd place in their group behind Cape Verde but ahead of Libya, Angola, Mauritius and Eswatini.

 Gabon, for its part, will not participate in the next World Cup either. 2nd in their group during the qualifiers behind Ivory Coast, Aubameyang's partners were beaten in the play-off semi-finals by Nigeria 4-1 last month. A real disappointment for the Squirrels who had nevertheless won 8 of their 10 matches during their qualifying campaign, including those in October against Gambia 3-4 and Burundi 2-0. Absent from the last CAN, the Gabonese hope to make a difference this year by at least getting out of this fairly tough group. 

The list established by David Pagou contains many important absences. Captain Aboubacar (Neftchi, 117 sel, 45 goals) was not selected, any more than the goalkeeper Onana (Trabzonspor, 53 sel) and the defenders Castelleto (36 sel, ex Nantes) and NGadeu-Ngadjui (Pekin, 64 sel) in particular. In addition, essential midfielder Anguissa (Napoli, 64 sels) and striker Choupo-Moting (NY Red Bulls, 76 sels, 20 goals) are injured. On the other hand, in terms of the forces present, we can cite the defenders Tolo (Seattle Sounders, 44 sel) and Wooh (Spartak Mocou, 23 sel), the midfielders Onana (Genoa, 12 sel) and Baleba (Brighton, 11 sel), and the attackers Bassogog (57 sel, 8 goals), Mbeumo (Manchester United, 27 sel, 7 goals) and Nkoudou (19 selections, 3 goals). Also note that Ligue 1 residents like Yongwa (Lorient), Nadiga (Rennes), Avom (Lorient), Dina Edimbe (Brest), Magri (Toulouse, 17 sels, 2 goals) and Namaso (Auxerre) are there as well as the interesting Kofane (Bayer Leverkusen) and the prolific Etta Eyong (Levante). Gabon will arrive with the headliner the veteran Aubameyang (Marseille, 79 sels, 38 goals) who should be the major offensive asset of this team with the former Stéphanois Bouanga (LAFC, 51 sels, 15 goals).

However, the first mentioned was injured during OM - Monaco and is forfeited for this poster. We find other players playing in France such as defenders Ecuele-Manga (Paris 13 Atlético, 109 sels, 9 goals), Obiang (Orléans), Ekomié (Angers), Mboula (Metz). Up front, we find the interesting Allevinah (Angers, 35 selections, 10 goals) and the younger Averlant (Amiens) and Openda (Bordeaux). In the heart of the game, the midfielders Lemina (Galatasaray, 39 sels, 5 goals) and Ndong (53 sels) as well as the experienced Kanga (82 sels) and Poko (82 sels) were also called up. Conversely, striker Do Marcolino (Lusitania, 10 sel) was not called up.