Cameroon vs Brazil Preview

Brazil will look to make it three wins in three group stage games when they face Cameroon at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

The Indomitable Lions Cameroon kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 32 years alive last time out when they came back from two goals down to snatch a draw against Serbia.

In an entertaining game at Al Janoub Stadium, the African giants opened the scoring through Jean-Charles Castelletto just before the half-hour mark. However, two quick-fire goals from Strahinja Pavlovic and Savic-Sergej Milinkovic just before the break put Serbia in command in the first half.

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic made it 3-1 for Serbia just after the restart, leaving Cameroon with a mountain to climb.

But when his side needed him most, AFCON top scorer Vincent Aboubakar came from the bench to score one and assist another as Cameroon made it 3-3.

That result leaves the five-time AFCON champions still needing a huge win against Brazil if they want to qualify for the next round. Yet, even victory at Lusail Iconic Stadium may still not be enough unless Serbia lose to Switzerland in the other Group G game.

Getting a win against Brazil is no mean feat given that no African team has beaten the South American giants for nearly two decades. Cameroon’s 1-0 FIFA Confederations Cup win over the Seleção in 2003 remains the only time a CAF-region team has ever beaten Brazil or kept a clean sheet against them.

The five-time World Cup winners have scored exactly three times in five of their seven previous World Cup wins over African opposition and will fancy their chances of getting another win here.

Brazil come into this tie on the back of a 1-0 win over Switzerland. That result ensured that they qualified for the knockout round with one game to spare.

The result was also their ninth win in a row and saw them record their seventh clean sheet in that period. It also extended their unbeaten run to 17 games (W14, D3).

They will now look to sign out of the group stages in style as they pursue their record-breaking sixth world title this year.