World Cup 2014 Preview – Cameroon

There are 99 days left until World Cup 2014 kicks off, but Cameroon have a big hill to climb if they want to advance out of the group stage; however, crazier things have happened.

They will have a chance to get some points with their first match-up with Mexico on June 13, with Mexico not playing necessarily as well as they should have during qualifying. Head coach Volker Finke has his hands full if he wants to see his squad make it out of the group stage, and he'll need some support from his talent up front, starting with Samuel Eto'o. Eto'o, being one of the best strikers in the world, can open up so many different opportunities in the attacking third of the pitch, and is fully capable of turning a match to his team's favor with a flick of his head or touch of his foot.

All around, this team does have a good amount of talent, but definitely not the most skilled team in Group A. Marseille defender Nicolas N'Koulou is a rock on the backline, and can keep many top tier strikers from getting the easy looks that they typically get in a normal match.

Alex Song, the Barcelona midfielder, will be a key piece for this team throughout the group stage. His forte is playing as a defensive midfielder, but also has the ability to pull further back and play as an extra central defender, adding more defensive power if they're capable of putting up an early goal or two.

Cameroon has a challenge in front of them, and they know it will not be easy. Brazil is a force to deal with, not to mention Croatia is ranked #16 in FIFA's World Rankings.

My prediction: although Eto'o is one of my favorite players, I can't see this squad getting out of the group. Too much Brazil, too much Croatia, and Mexico has a lot of talent and will be good if they learn to play together. Cameroon finish 3rd in this difficult group, although they should probably finish 4th.