Cameroon Simmering in the Oyster Box: Africa's Hottest World Cup Bet

Cameroon will soon be simmering in the Oyster Box. Sounds like a bizarre Gordon Ramsey recipe, but that’s exactly what will be happening in the quiet seaside resort of Umhlanga next month.

The most successful African nation in the history of the World Cup are coming to KwaZulu Natal, with Inter Milan’s former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o joining up with the squad after Saturday’s Champions League final against Bayern Munich. It’s the stuff of fairy tales for football lovers, who live a few miles north of World Cup venue, Durban.

Mind you, the newly refurbished Oyster Box—which housed England’s cricketers during their last tour in December—is something of a fantasy in itself. I needed sunglasses to survive the bright red upholstery in the upstairs bar, and heart surgery after taking a look at the room rates when I visited the hotel this week. When I stayed there for the 1999 cricket tour, it was a quaint post-colonial guest house.

While financially-troubled Greece have headed for the Beverly Hills Hotel next door— another luxurious Umhlanga venue, clearly the footballers aren’t suffering like their countrymen—Cameroon have spared no expense in their preparations.

And make no mistake, they believe they can win the World Cup, just like everybody else apart from, perhaps North Korea, at 106 the lowest ranked side in the tournament.

Cameroon, 19th on the latest FIFA list, missed the last World Cup of course, the only one of the last six finals they’ve not reached. They play in Group E, against Japan, Denmark, and the Netherlands, with every chance of being the sole African side to reach the knock-out stages.

Mind you, though they are based barely 10 miles from the magnificent arched Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban, their group games will be played in Bloemfontein, Pretoria, and Cape Town. Altitude is clearly no problem for Cameroon. And with Durban basking in sub-tropical heat, the rest of South Africa is a lot chillier right now too.

It was no easy path to South Africa. After taking just one point from their first two African qualifiers, German coach Otto Pfister was hastily replaced by Frenchman Paul Le Guen, the former Glasgow Rangers and Lyon boss. He worked the magic quickly enough, guiding the side to four consecutive wins to book their flights to King Shaka on June 2.

But, Eto’o apart, you may struggle to recognise many of the Cameroon players as they wander among the many and varied restaurants of the booming Umhlanga town centre.

Never heard of Valenciennes? They’re a small outfit in northern France who offer goalkeeper Guy-Roland N’Dy Assembe and right-back Gaetan Bong in the provisional squad.

Assembe only came into the Cameroon fold during their disappointing African Nations Cup campaign at Angola 2010. Bong hasn’t even played for Cameroon beforehe—won French caps at Under 21 level before switching allegiances.

He insists: “As I’ve always said, I was born in Cameroon and I’m Cameroonian. I owe a lot to France and that’s why I couldn’t turn down the invitation to play for the U-21s. But make no mistake, it’s Cameroon I’ve always wanted to play for.”

Of course, Le Guen still has to cut his squad from 30 to 23 on June 1, along with the other 31 competing coaches. Assembe reckons:

“Being named in the provisional squad takes me a step closer to fulfilling my childhood dream. I’ve got a lot of work to do though if I’m going to make sure of my place at the training camp. For me it would be a chance to find out what the top level is all about and learn how to handle the pressure. I’m not expecting anything more than that.”

And Bong accepts: “There are a lot of other players who deserve this as much as I do. They’re in my thoughts and I know how lucky I am. Now I’m going to fight my hardest to get in the 23. This is already fantastic news for me, so making the finals will just be the icing on the cake for me, a bonus. I’m young and I want to make the most of this so I can learn and develop.”

But all eyes will be on Eto’o, installed as captain by Le Guen as Cameroon attempt to better their African-best performance at Italy 1990, when Jean-Claude Pagal (Gaetan Bong’s uncle), Francois Omam-Biyik, and Roger Milla upset the form book by reaching the quarter-finals. Only two Gary Lineker penalties provided England with a 3-2 win.

They don’t lack belief. Assembe says: “I can honestly see us winning the title.” The highest ranked African qualifiers, headed only by non-qualifiers Egypt (13), may just be worth looking out for.