Sunday 15 June 2014

What a thrilling World Cup 2014! Host country Brazil had a flying-colors opening match with Croatia when they thrashed their visitors 3 goals to 1. The peak of this cup tournament so far for Cameroon was when the roaring Lions failed to intimidate their opponents of Mexico and Cameroonians spent a bad evening. Their chance to fly high slipped through their hands and fell right into waiting palms of their opponent. I can imagine what that day must have looked like in Mexico after that dwell. Although Cameroon's night was dark, hearts started to brighten when they reflected on the crushing defeat that Spain suffered in the hands of The Netherlands. What happened on the pitch was a clear indication that the Netherlanders have never forgotten the 2010 World Cup when Spain spoiled what would have been their best day. This time around, they took their turn to laugh from jaw to jaw while Spain waded with difficulty through deep mud. Another match that I watched with a lot of interest was the Uruguay-Costa Rica match which defied all predictions especially after the first minutes of the encounter. Young jersey-number-9 wearer on the Costa Rican squad, Campbell mesmerized the globe with enchanting displays that set him on an irreversible flight to the stars in soccer.
Back to Cameroon we can only say bravo Cameroon and our Indomitable Lions!  You've lost a battle but can win the war since it was just the beginning. We do not know the winner of a race at the start but at the end.  Moreover, you lost with great honor. True that a defeat is a defeat; but there are defeats and there are defeats; some devastating; others not.
Let no one say that our chances are gone.  They are not gone. In foot ball, at world cup level, any team can defeat any team. Hence, no team should be seen as doomed to lose ahead of their match; neither should any team  be given victory before they have won it. Have we not seen how some teams that lost their first match in past tournamnts went on to win the World Cup? Our boys must go in with a vengeance and win their next two matches.  It should not matter who they are playing against.  It could be against a giant or a dwarf. What matters is how much they have and are ready to put in.  We want the cup in Cameroon.
And Cameroonians, on our part, our spirits must not sag any bit. Let's remain solidly behind our Lions and believe them to victory.