Cameroon and Tunisia will be hoping to qualify for the 2014 Fifa World Cup when they clash at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde on Sunday, kick-off 16h0 (CAT, SA, GMT+2).
The indomitable Lions head into the encounter with a slight advantage having held the Eagles of Carthage to a goalless draw in the first leg in Rades last month.
The 0-0 result was largely due to the heroics of Charles Itandje who made several sparkling saves to frustrate the Tunisians.
Cameroon coach Volker Finke who will be aiming to guide Cameroon to their second successive World Cup finals has a full strength squad to choose from with a number of players returning from injury.
Skipper Samuel Eto’o who briefly retired from national football will lead the line for the hosts. His return to form at club side Chelsea will come as a huge relief to Finke who will be counting on the experience marksman to lead the Lions to Brazil.
Queens Park Rangers left back Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Lyon fullback Henri Bedimo and Sevilla midfielder Stephane Mbia have notably returned to the Lions setup.
Mbia didn’t feature in the first leg after picking up an injury while playing for Spanish club side Sevilla.
Cedric Raoul, Landry Nguemo and striker Vincent Aboubakar have also returned to face the North African side.
Meanwhile, Tunisia coach Ruud Krol has not included veteran forward Issam Jemaa in the 26-man squad. Jemaa has been replaced by Esperance forward Ahmed Akaich while former captain Karim Haggui who wasn’t in the initial squad has replaced the injured Alaeddine Yahia.
The former Orlando Pirates coach will have to do without Toulouse defender Aymen Abdennour who picked up an injury while star midfielders Youssef Msakni and Oussama Darragi still don’t fit into his plans.
The duo of Houcine Nater and Fabien Camus are still waiting on clearance and it is still uncertain whether Krol will be able to pick the pair.
Nater and Camus have seen their application for Tunisian citizenship rejected by the Ministry of Justice as they are not residence in Tunisia.
Rennes and Indomitable Lions midfielder Jean II Makoun expressed that his side will give everything to conquer Tunisia and subsequently book their place in next year’s World Cup.
“We will give our 100% to make sure that the team which will take on Tunisia has everything it takes to win. If we are here it is to go to the World Cup. We do not aim at anything else but the qualification,” Jean II Makoun told camfoot.com.
Krol who will be aiming to guide the Eagles of Carthage to their first World Cup since 2006 lamented his side’s missed opportunities in Rades before adding that he feels they have what it takes to score in Yaounde.
“It is a pity to have missed so many opportunities [in Rades]. We were in control for most of the game, with some shaky phases from time to time,” said the Dutch coach.
“We must not forget who were in front of us. Now we will do everything to score a goal in Yaounde. We have what it takes to achieve it.”
SUPERSPORT
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