Picture Credit: Twitter
Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana has been removed from the Cameroon National team playing at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The Indomitable Lions dropped Onana from the Playing XI against Serbia in their Group Stage fixture at the Al Janoub Stadium. After the team news was released, multiple reports regarding the Milan keeper’s exclusion from the team surfaced.
The main reason cited by multiple reports is a disagreement between Andre Onana and Cameroon coach Rigobert Song, regarding the play style of the team’s keeper. Song demanded the keeper to play a more ‘traditional’ role. But the Inter Milan Keeper doesn’t want to change his playing style and hence has been excluded.
Onana joined Inter Milan on a free transfer this summer from Ajax Amsterdam. He started the season behind the veteran keeper Samir Handanovic but soon secured the starting spot by October. Since then he has played in the last seven league matches before the World Cup break. In total, Onana has played 13 times for Inter Milan this season, keeping five clean sheets.
Going back to Cameroon’s game against Serbia, The Indomitable Lions had a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Al Janoub Stadium. Jean-Charles Castelletto opened the scoring and then Serbia levelled with Strahinja Pavlović. The Eagles then doubled their in just two minutes thanks to Sergej Milinković-Savić’s stunning goal.
In the second half, Aleksander Mitrovic scored the third Serbian goal to make the score 3-1. But 10 minutes later, Vincent Aboubakar scored the second Cameroonian goal followed by Eric Maxim Choupo Moting’s clinical goal. The game then ended as a draw.
After the match, Cameroon coach Rigobert Song addressed the Onana situation and talked about how he had put the team ahead of the individual. He said, "He is a very important player but we are in a competition and my role is to put the team first ahead of an individual.”
Song further added, "He is one of the best keepers in Europe. This is not about his performances but you have to preserve the squad," he added about the Inter Milan keeper. "Maybe we needed a strong signal. It's a big risk that I took. But I'm the dad of these kids so when I have to take risks and make decisions, I do that and I stand by what I do."
