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Rigobert Song’s first game in charge of the Cameroon men’s U-23 national team went pretty well: a 3-0 home win over Chad in 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualifying, thanks largely to two goals from former Philadelphia Union winger Eric Ayuk. Now the team must close out the series in Chad.
New York Red Bulls defender Hassan Ndam was a late addition to the Cameroon squad before the first leg. He made it as far as the bench for that game but no further. Unsurprising given he did not appear to have much time to shake off jet lag and prepare with his teammates. This time around, however, he’s had a few days to acclimatize and will be as ready as he’ll ever be to help his team in this international window.
Song’s highest-profile recruit to the U-23s for this qualifying campaign - Bayern Munich’s Franck Evina - was missing from the last match-day squad entirely. His absence has been explained as a paperwork issue that it is expected will have been resolved in time for this game.
The winner of this series will play Sierra Leona - home and away - in the second round of AFCON U-23s qualifying in March.