Samuel Eto’o Drops Defender Selection Hint On Cameroon’s World Cup Squad

Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) president  Samuel Eto’o has dropped a strong hint on Liverpool defender Joel Matip future with the national team.

The 31-year-old defender , who has not represented his country since 2015, had announced himself unavailable  for the national team set in 2017, citing mismanagement issues and bad experiences with former coaching staff at international level.

Several attempts had been made to get Matip back from international retirement but the player has avoided selections.

He was first called up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, but he did not travel, then was invited by  former coach Toni Conceicao but was also not successful in his bid to bring back the player.

But there is some glimmer hope as Eto’o  in his latest interview during a visit to Dakar,Senegal said ; “Regarding to Joel Matip, you know that the coach has not yet released the 26 players who will have a chance to go to Qatar.

“Let him be the first to unveil his squad at the appropriate time. As a president I can’t replace Rigobert Song.”

Matip first played for the Indomitable Lions in a friendly match against Italy in March 2010, and he scored their only goal at the 2014 World Cup which was in a 4-1 loss to the host country, Brazil.

He represented Cameroon at the Fifa World Cup in 2010 and 2014 but has never featured for the Central African nation in AFCON, the greatest showpiece on the African continent.