Rigobert Song: This is why Cameroon lost AFCON 2023 race

Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song has explained why his boys did not shine in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Ivory Coast.

The Indomitable Lions exited the stage at the Round of 16 after going down 2-0 to arch-rivals Nigeria in Abidjan on Saturday night.

The margin would have been bigger, but Cameroon were saved by an intervention from VAR that ruled out a ninth-minute goal by Semi Ajayi for offside.

Ademola Lookman broke the deadlock in the 36th minute after Victor Osimhen took advantage of a defensive mistake by the Lions to set him up. Lookman scored the second goal late in the second half to help the Super Eagles progress as Cameroon exited the stage.

After the exit, Song discussed the reasons that worked against his team.

“We had the youngest team; there are players who are discovering. We gave the opponent the opportunity to put us in difficulty; it’s part of the game. As I’ve said before, we are in reconstruction. It’s by making these mistakes that we will grow.

“Football is like that. The AFCON is a competition that is played on all levels: technical, tactical, and especially mental. I have a youthful squad that is discovering; it played, and we still have a lot to learn,” the retired defender said, as quoted by CAFOnline.

Peseiro’s focus

On his part, Nigeria’s coach Jose Peseiro focused on the next game and warned that they must take Angola seriously if they have to advance further.

“We will now focus on our next match against Angola, which is having an excellent tournament.

“We must take this opponent seriously, so we will continue to sleep early and eat pasta (laughs). Jokes aside, all the teams at this stage are capable of winning the tournament,” Peseiro said.

Angola booked their place in the next phase of the tournament after beating their neighbours Namibia 3-0.