Three 2014 World Cup matches, three convincing defeats. Cameroon’s campaign has been one of the major disappointments of the tournament so far, and it continued in Brasilia on Monday night with a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the host nation.

There were more positives to take from this game than the capitulation against Croatia. After all, there was at least a goal to celebrate, with defender Joel Matip pouncing after sustained Cameroonian pressure which certainly had Brazil sweating. For a while, it looked like they might hold or even beat them, such was Brazil’s sloppiness at the back.

But in the end, Brazil’s quality shone through, in particular that of Neymar, who added two more goals to his tally. In the second half, Cameroon again capitulated. It was not the performance of a team who entered this tournament considered to be the most solid defensively of the African nations.

Cameroon end the tournament with one goal scored and nine conceded. Add in the two legitimate goals Mexico had chalked off in the first game and it demonstrates just how fragile the back line was. Against Brazil, they looked very open, with plenty of space for the talented Brazilian attackers to wander into, and time to pick their spots when shooting.

This was not just the fault of the defenders. There was very little protection from what was meant to be a very defensively-minded midfield, which on this occasion included Landry N’Guemo, former Fulham loanee Eyong Enoh and QPR’s Stephane Mbia. Indeed, for once they looked more threatening going forward, despite having offered very little in attack in the previous games.

Much of the scrutiny for the performances will now focus on coach Volker Finke. The experienced German has only been in the job since last May, but Cameroon have won only five of the 18 games under his management. Qualification largely came as a result of a defeat against Togo being overturned due to an ineligible playeer and one outstanding performance against Tunisia in the play-offs.

Finke is Cameroon’s tenth manager since the departure of Winifried Schafer in 2004. Schafer, currently head coach of Jamaica, was the last head coach to guide the Indomitable Lions to Africa Cup of Nations victory back in 2002. Since then, only Otto Pfister, who took Cameroon to the Cup of Nations final in 2008, has come close to finding a formula to make full use of the considerable talent they have. Such success now seems like a distant memory.

Cameroon’s fate as an African power rests on their next managerial appointment. After failing to qualify for the last two Cup of Nations and three inept, incoherent World Cup performances, chances of qualification for the 2015 and 2017 Cup of Nations and the 2018 World Cup seem slim. This could be the last time we see the iconic green shirts and red shorts at a major tournament for many years.