Cameroon sacked Belgian coach Marc Brys yesterday, and dropped Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from December 21 in Morocco.
Brys has had a stormy relationship with national football federation president and former star Samuel Eto’o so his dismissal was no surprise after the country failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Cameroon, whose eight World Cup appearances is an African record, lost out to minnows Cape Verde for an automatic place at the global tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Given a second chance as one of the four best group runners-up, Cameroon lost 1-0 to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Morocco last month and were eliminated.
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Eto’o was re-elected president of national body FECAFOOT for a second term at the weekend, and one of his first decisions was to fire Brys and replace him with local coach David Pagou.
The 56-year-old Pagou has handled a number of Cameroonian clubs, including Coton Sport, the dominant domestic team during the past decade.
Onana, on loan to Trabzonspor from United, was not among four goalkeepers named in a 28-man squad for the premier African football competition.
Romania-based Devis Epassy and Simon Ngapandouetnbu from French second-tier outfit Montpellier are among the shot-stoppers selected by Pagou.
Aboubakar axed
The squad includes two Premier League players — United striker Bryan Mbeumo and Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.
Veteran Azerbaijan-based forward Vincent Aboubakar, leading scorer with eight goals in the 2022 AFCON hosted by Cameroon, was another surprise omission.
Cameroon have won the AFCON five times, a record bettered only by seven-time champions Egypt. They will face title-holders Ivory Coast, Gabon and Mozambique in Group F at the 2025 tournament.
Group winners and runners-up and the best four of the six third-place teams qualify for the knockout phase.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United winger Yoane Wissa, recovering from a knee injury, has been left out of the Democratic Republic of Congo squad named by French coach Sebastien Desabre.
Sunderland defender Arthur Masuaku and midfielder Noah Sadiki, West Ham full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe were included.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan also named 28 players for the AFCON, including struggling Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah and Manchester United striker Omar Marmoush.
Salah won the Premier League Golden Boot last season with 29 goals, but has netted only four times after 13 rounds in this campaign. He was dropped for a match the Reds won at West Ham on Sunday.
DR Congo are in Group D with Senegal, Benin and Botswana while Egypt face Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe in Group B.