Cameroon's Indomitable Lions will be chasing their fifth appearance in the last six FIFA World Cup ™ finals, buoyed by their performance at the 2008 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, where they bounced back from defeat in the opening game advance to the final, only losing narrowly to Egypt.

Still packed with stars, such as three-time CAF African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto'o and the long-serving Rigobert Song, the first African player from a country south of the Sahara to earn 100 international caps, Cameroon will be among the leading contenders for a place at the FIFA World Cup ™ finals in South Africa.

Now coached by the veteran Otto Pfister, who was in charge of Togo at the last finals in his native Germany in 2006, Cameroon begin in a modest group against the Cape Verde Islands, Mauritius and Tanzania.

The Indomitable Lions are historically among the heavyweights in African football thanks to the exploits of such legendary names as Roger Milla, Jacques Songo'o, Francois Omam-Biyik, Joseph-Antoine Bell and the late Marc-Vivien Foe.

Who can forget Roger Milla swaying around the corner flag at Italy 1990, when the Lions wrote their names in the tournament annals by upsetting title-holders Argentina in the opening match in Milan? They then went on to prove the result was no fluke by becoming the first African team to reach the quarter-finals, introducing Milla's unique celebration to the a watching world. Despite losing a thriller to England, Milla and his men won the hearts of millions of supporters.

Since then, Cameroon have become a regular fixture in the final phases of the FIFA World Cup, without ever managing to scale the heights of 1990. Indeed, they fell at the first hurdle in 1994, 1998 and 2002. They also endured the heartbreak of not qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in October 2005 when a last minute penalty was missed in their match against Egypt, leaving them two points short of reaching the German showpiece.

Nevertheless, having won the CAF Africa Cup of Nations as well as the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, Cameroon have history on their side and a proud reputation to uphold.