Indomitable Lions Arrive in Luanda ahead of clash with Palancas Negras

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

BUEA, Cameroon – The Indomitable Lions arrive in Luanda on Sunday night ahead of their crucial matchday 4 clash of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers against Angola. Cameroon heads into this game fresh from their 4-1 demolition of the Bleu Sharks of Cabo Verde on Saturday at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.

On Tuesday, Cameroon face a potentially trickier fixture away to Angola. Cape Verde will host Libya on the same day. Cameroon leads Group D on goal difference from Libya with both teams have accumulated seven points. Angola have five, Cape Verde four, Mauritius one and Eswatini none.

Cameroon made a fiery start to the encounter as Michael Ngadeu headed in Moumi Ngamaleu’s corner to put Cameroon ahead in the 13th minute. Aboubakar doubled the lead 12 minutes later when he hooked in Ngamaleu’s cross following a well-worked short corner on the right.

Cabo Verde pulled one back eight minutes before the break when Jamiro Monteiro slotted Bebe’s through ball past the onrushing Onana. But Cameroon restored their two-goal lead on the stroke of half-time, with Ngamaleu involved again as the Dynamo Moscow forward was brought down by Deroy Duarte and captain Aboubakar unerringly converted the resulting penalty.

The two goals from Vincent Aboubakar took his tally with the Indomitable Lions to 56 goals in all competitions, levelled with Patrick Mboma as the second-best scorer for the country. Aboubakar, however, still has a long way to go to surpass Samuel Eto’o’s record, with Aboubakar 13 goals shy of that record.

The Indomitable Lions then made it 4-1 nine minutes into the second half when Nouhou Tolo held off centre-back Roberto Lopes to head home following another short corner. Cape Verde looked a shadow of the side which had reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year – one round further than Cameroon had managed – with set-pieces proving their undoing.

The result in Yaounde was beyond doubt when Onana saved Kevin Pina's penalty in the 94th minute, and the Manchester United goalkeeper was then fouled by Gilson Benchimol when he attempted to gather the loose ball on his goalline.

The result takes the Central Africans back to the top of Group D in Africa qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ahead of Libya on goal difference with both teams on seven points after three games. Africa will have nine sides at the expanded 2026 finals, with all qualifying group winners assured of a place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.