The reason why Manchester United star Andre Onana was left out of Cameroon's dramatic 3-2 victory over Gambia at the Africa Cup of Nations has reportedly been revealed.
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On Tuesday evening, the Indomitable Lions were involved in a must-win encounter when they took on the Scorpions in their final Group C clash at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.
Headlines were made before kick-off, however, when 27-year-old shot-stopper Onana was left on the bench for the decisive clash.
According to i News, the reason for this was the goalkeeper's strained relationship with Cameroonian Football Federation president Samuel Eto'o.
As per the abovementioned publication, while fellow national team icon Rigobert Song is the head coach, it is Eto'o who picks the team and he was not keen on including the former Inter Milan player in the crucial match.
Onana retired from international football during the 2022 FIFA World Cup after he fell out with Song and Eto'o over his insistence on playing out from the back during that competition, and while he unretired from the five-time African champions to help them qualify for the continental showpiece against Burundi, it seems he and the legendary marksman still do not see eye to eye.
Their relationship will not have been aided by Onana's late arrival at the AFCON, arriving in Ivory Coast mere hours before they kick-started their campaign against Guinea.
The same report claims that while Onana and Song are no longer at odds with one another, tension still remains between him and the top Cameroonian football chief.
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The second most successful side in AFCON history will now take on Nigeria in the round of 16, but it remains to be seen if the Nkol Ngok native will be reintegrated into the starting XI following their latest victory.
Eto'o is said to have bowed to public pressure when Onana was selected for the Cameroon squad for the showpiece, so if he is indeed in charge of choosing the team, he may do so once again for their crucial upcoming fixture against the Super Eagles.
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