If the Greens managed to take over Cameroon yesterday, during the first round of the 2022 World Cup play-offs, the credit goes first and foremost to the national coach, Djamel Belmadi.
And for good reason, the national coach who was shaken by a failed final phase of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, with a premature exit from the first round of this CAN, found a tactical plan and an adequate game plan. in two months for this first leg match in Douala.
A job that paid off Belmadi knew how to thwart the Indomitable Lions in their lair, from the Japoma stadium to Douala by managing to take the upper hand tactically over Rigobert Song to finally win this first leg match by the smallest of margins, on a signed goal, Slimani in the first period.
Belmadi, a follower of the offensive game, but…
A follower of the offensive game since his induction at the head of EN on August 2, 2018, the national coach had tried several tactical variants for three and a half years. Thus, the national trainer who celebrated his 46 broomsticks yesterday tried several offensive variants, from 4-1-4-1, 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1. The national coach even played with two points, combining Slimani and Bounedjah in one 4-4-2 hybrid.
Yesterday for the first leg of the World Cup play-offs once morest Cameroon, Belmadi opted for an unprecedented tactical scheme by approaching this meeting with 3 defenders; a 3-4-3. A paid tactic, because on the defensive phases the Vers defended with five defenders in addition to the contribution of the two holding midfielders, in this case, Zerouki and Bennacer. Belmadi locked everything, leaving no breach for Vincent Aboubakar’s teammates. A successful tactic, since EN took over Cameroon (1-0).
Cameroonian attackers “immobilized”
Faced with this Algerian double wall, the Cameroonian attackers were out of ideas insofar as neither Choupo- Moting or even less, the two strong jerseys of the Indomitable Lions offensive line, namely, Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko-Ekambewho alone scored 12 goals in the CAN2022.
Aboubakar, who only played one half following taking a blow to the ankle, was weaned off balls. Although he often stalled to stretch the low block of the Greens, but thanks to the defensive density of the Algerians, there were few spaces left for the Cameroonians. The Balloons also did not arrive at the head of Ekambe, very skilful in this register.
Same for the burly defenders of the Indomitable Lions during set plays. To say that the tactics adopted by Belmadi paid off. Now it’s up to teammates to Riyad Mahrez to finish work on Tuesday at home to officially score their ticket for the Qatari World Cup.
DZfoot