The mighty Lions expel Onana.
Cameroon battled Serbia to a 3-3 draw at Al Janoub Stadium yesterday, rising from the ashes of their opening-day defeat by Switzerland. It was a draw that kept fans at the Al Janoub Stadium breathless while also keeping Cameroon's World Cup hopes alive.
Cameroon's day began with the news that their number one goalkeeper, Andre Onana, had been fired due to disciplinary issues.
After goals from Strahinja Pavlovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Serbia a 3-1 lead early in the second half, Rigobert Song's team appeared to be doomed.
However, substitutes Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting snatched a draw just after the hour mark, leaving Cameroon and Serbia on a single point, two behind group leaders Brazil and Switzerland.
Cameroon would have needed Switzerland to beat Brazil to avoid elimination with a game to spare if they had lost, but instead the west Africans have a chance to advance from the group stage for the first time since 1990.
Cameroon faces a difficult task in their final match against Brazil, which they will play without their first-choice goalkeeper, Onana, who was dropped from the matchday squad just hours before kickoff due to an unspecified disciplinary issue.
Mitrovic was almost invisible in Serbia's loss to Brazil, but he was involved from the start here, with the Fulham forward unlucky not to give Serbia the lead in the 11th minute when he crashed a shot off the post from a tight angle after a neat exchange of passes with Dusan Tadic.
But Mitrovic only had himself to blame for not opening the scoring six minutes later, when he shanked an awful first-time finish wide after the ball fell at his feet with only Onana's replacement, Devis Epassy, to beat.
After ghosting in at the back post to meet Nicolas Nkoulou's flick-on at a corner, Castelletto punished the Serbs for Mitrovic's miss in the 29th minute with the simplest of finishes.
In the 43rd minute, Pierre Kunde missed a golden opportunity to double Cameroon's lead when he shot straight at goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and then smashed the rebound wide.
As the half approached first-half stoppage time, it was Cameroon's turn to be undone at a set-piece when Pavlovic brilliantly headed home Tadic's floated free-kick.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic turned the game on its head two minutes later with a superb left-footed finish after Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa sloppily gave the ball away just outside his own penalty area.
Mitrovic finally got the goal his strong performance deserved seven minutes after the break, unopposedly tapping in Andrija Zivkovic's pass at the end of a beautiful move guided by Milinkovic-Savic and Tadic.
The game appeared to be over, but Cameroon resurrected itself thanks to Aboubakar's bizarre goal.
The Al Nassr forward raced through onto Castelletto's launched over-the-top pass and scooped an improbable finish over the Serbia goalkeeper, beaming with delight after his goal was awarded following a VAR check.
Aboubakar's pace caused Serbia problems, and he set up Choupo-equalizer, Moting's bursting down the right and laying on a simple finish for the Bayern Munich forward, sparking wild celebrations on the field and in the stands.
In an end-to-end finish, neither team could find a winner, and their chances of making the knockouts will be decided in the final game.
Cameroon manager Song confirmed after the game that Onana had left their 2022 World Cup squad due to 'disciplinary reasons.'
During a Saturday training session, the 26-year-old allegedly got into a heated argument with Song about his playing style.
Song is said to have chastised Onana for taking too many risks with his feet near his own goal, and he wished for the Inter Milan goalkeeper to play more directly.
Onana, who played the entire 90 minutes in Cameroon's 1-0 loss to Switzerland last Thursday, allegedly refused to change his style of play and has since been removed from the country's World Cup squad in Qatar.
"He is a very important player," Song added, "but we are at the World Cup, and my role is to put the team ahead of an individual."
"He is one of Europe's best keepers." This isn't about his performances, but you have to keep the squad together.
"Perhaps it was the catalyst we needed for this performance" (against Serbia). I took a big risk, but I'm the dad of these kids, so when I have to take risks and make decisions, I do so, and I stand by my decisions.
"For the time being, I've asked Onana to wait, and we'll see if he wants to stay with us." It is entirely up to him."
