On Monday, October 13, the Indomitable Lions played to a 0-0 draw against Angola at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé, during the 10th and final matchday of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. In this tense context, they now have only a slim hope: to be among the best second-placed teams to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Cameroon drew 0-0 with Angola at the Omnisports Stadium in Yaoundé on this October 13, 2025. Second in Group D of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Indomitable Lions needed a win and a stumble by the group leaders, Cape Verde, against Eswatini. Cape Verde’s 3-0 victory in Praia forces André Onana’s teammates to hope for a place among the best second-placed teams in the qualifiers, which would mean advancing to the playoff tournament.
“We had an excellent André Onana in goal today, and our defense was solid. However, Cameroon struggled to score goals due to our midfield’s inability to build effective attacks. They lost the ball repeatedly in the first half, and we had very few shots on target until the second half. Unfortunately, Angola’s goalkeeper had an exceptional day, making five impressive saves, including a crucial one in the final minutes. In the end, Cameroon needed a win and a goal, but we fell short, which is disappointing for us today.”
Cameroon faced an Angolan team under no pressure but far from passive. Already eliminated from the World Cup race, the Palancas Negras came to play their match seriously, presenting a rigorous defense and a compact block. Driven by a physical midfield and a solid defensive organization, the Angolans perfectly contained the Cameroonian attacks.
“I want to tell you, if we had scored maybe we would have won the match. So there you have it, it’s a high-level match. I want to answer you, we had situations, we had chances, so tonight I want to say that we knew how to be solid defensively and on the counter-attacks we could have been the winners tonight, so it was a very tight match, decided by small details. But I repeat, tonight I am really very happy with the team spirit after just 4 training sessions.”
Cape Verde finishes at the top of Group D with 23 points, followed by Cameroon with 19 points. This is insufficient to secure direct qualification. If the Indomitable Lions finish among the four best second-placed teams from the nine qualifying groups, they will compete in stage one of the playoff tournament scheduled for November in Morocco. The draw for this mini-tournament will be based on the FIFA rankings of October 23.