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YAOUNDE. — Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song has shed some light on the work he’s done in the months leading up to their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations football qualifier against Namibia at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde tonight.

Kick-off is at 10:30pm.

Song revealed that the mood in the camp was really low after their early exit from the 2022 World Cup, where they finished third in Group G despite pulling off a shock 1-0 win over Brazil and picking up four points.

The former Cameroon international, who is their most-capped player with 137 appearances, has begun a rebuilding process in the subsequent three months and informed the players of his expectations for this new project.

The Indomitable Lions lead Group C in qualifying after edging Burundi 1-0 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on June 9 and maximum points in their double-header against the Brave Warriors will mean progression to the showpiece in Ivory Coast next year.

Only three teams are contesting the group after Kenya were disqualified due to their suspension by FIFA, which saw Song’s side get a bye on matchday 1.

“The goal, I think it’s very simple because you know we’re on a new project. 

“I’m talking about the project but I’ll just say that after the World Cup we had a really down time,” he said in a press conference earlier this week.

“I had to be able to find players and exchange with them apart from the fact that we are in the stadiums, to be able to create again and tell them exactly what we heard from them about the mistakes made in the past, that it is no longer repeated and everyone coming to know what they have to do and what is expected of them.”

Namibia find themselves in third place after the 1-1 draw with the Swallows on June 4. The two nations will battle it out for the final qualifying spot in the group and their clash later this year will likely decide which of them joins Cameroon in the Afcon finals.

Collin Benjamin’s team only featured five times in 2022 but they reached the COSAFA Cup final in July before losing 1-0 to Zambia after extra-time.

Benjamin is pleased with the progress made by his squad during their training sessions at the Namibia Football Association Technical Centre in Windhoek this month and remains hopeful that their fitness levels will tell against the Indomitable Lions. — AFP.