New Cameroon coach Clarence Seedorf has named a 23-man squad for their 2019 Afcon qualifier away to Comoros on September 7.
Unveiling the squad in Yaounde on Monday, Seedorf and his assistant Patrick Kluivert sprang up a series of surprises in their first squad by leaving out team captain Benjamin Moukandjo, Afcon 2017 best player Christian Bassogog as well as Adolphe Teikeu and Clinton Njie.
Asked about their choices, the duo indicated that the Chinese championship is back in an important moment of its calendar. They also said that Cameroonian players playing there would have been forced to make a trip over a very long distance to reach Kenya on September 3, and then the Comoros on September 7.
“Doing a 12-hour flight this way and another 12-hour return flight for one game is huge. So we called 23 players and if I had my way I would have called 45 (players). But no one is excluded from the selection,” Kluivert said.
There was however a first call up for Paul Georges Ntep and Adrien Tameze. The Dutch coach also handed a recall to Ambroise Oyongo Bitolo after he returned from a lengthy injury lay-off.
Cameroon, automatically qualified for the 2019 Afcon as hosts, are using the qualifiers to ready themselves for the competition.
Full squad
Goalkeepers
André Onana, Fabrice Ondoa, Carlos Kameni
Defenders
Fai Collins, Allan Nyom, Félix Eboa Eboa, Ngadeu Ngadui, Yaya Banana, Jérôme Onguene, Gaetang Bong, Ambroise Oyongo Bitolo
Midfielders
Anguissa Zambo, Kunde Malong, Georges Mandjeck, Adrien Tameze
Strikers
Toko Ekambi, Moumi Ngamaleu, Fabrice Olinga, Edgar Salli, Paul Georges Ntep, Maxime Choupo-Moting, Vincent Aboubakar, Stéphane Bahoken.
