New generation of Lions failed to deliver at AFCON

Cameroon came into the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with the hope that a new-look young side could make an impression in Equatorial Guinea and put their disastrous World Cup behind them.

But the Indomitable Lions leave prematurely after failing to win a game in a tough group and with tensions appearing to have reached the boiling point between veteran coach Volker Finke and the local media.

Simply qualifying for the finals was an improvement on 2012 and 2013, when they missed out altogether, and yet there had been quiet optimism that they could emerge as genuine contenders to win the Cup of Nations for the first time since 2002.

After all, Cameroon were strong in qualifying at the tail end of last year and looked to have turned the page following the World Cup, when they bowed out with no points, one goal scored and nine conceded in three matches.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto's headbutt on Benjamin Moukandjo during the 4-0 loss to Croatia in their second game in Brazil highlighted the disharmony in the camp at the time.

But German Finke undertook an overhaul of the squad after that and appeared confident on the eve of the Cup of Nations. "The spirit, the mentality has changed. The last two or three months there has been a closed dressing room," he said.

The likes of Assou-Ekotto, Alex Song, Landry N'Guemo, Jean Makoun, Pierre Webo, Joel Matip and the legendary Samuel Eto'o were dropped or retired from international football, and the Cameroon squad in Equatorial Guinea featured 10 players aged 23 or under.

Stephane Mbia was promoted to the role of captain and warned before the opening match against Mali that the "most important thing is to prepare for 2019", when Cameroon will host the Cup of Nations.

A squad with new faces such as 19-year-old Barcelona B goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa, Ambroise Oyongo, who scored against Mali, midfielder Raoul Loe and young Lyon forward Clinton Njie was therefore perhaps a little too inexperienced to come through the group stage.

NO LOVE LOST Draws with Mali and Guinea piled pressure on the Indomitable Lions before Wednesday's decisive final group game against the Ivory Coast, in which a narrow 1-0 loss sealed their fate.

Their struggles in front of goal only accentuated frustrations among supporters and local media who could not understand why Njie was not given more of a chance.

So impressive in qualifying, Njie only got a brief run out in the second half of the Ivory Coast encounter, and even then it may have been a case of Finke giving in to popular demand.

No love has been lost between the coach and the Cameroonian media, with Finke on one occasion being made "aware that the majority of people in Cameroon hate you", before being asked: "Are you going to step down or wait until you are chased out of the job?"

In the end Cameroon's brief Cup of Nations campaign has all been a world away from the impressive performances in qualifying, when they went unbeaten and conceded just one goal in six games, in a 4-1 win against the Ivorians. "It's another context. This is not the qualifiers now," Mbia said after Wednesday's loss to the same opponents.

"The team is being rebuilt. The most important thing is to look forward and prepare as well as possible for what is to come next." Next is the 2017 Cup of Nations qualifiers, which begin later this year, although whether Finke will still be there remains to be seen.