Manchester United star Bryan Mbeumo will have to deal with both goalscoring and captaincy challenges when he plays for Cameroon at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco this month.
With veteran striker Vincent Aboubakar unexpectedly sacked, goal scoring responsibility falls on the 26-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Brentford last July.
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The Indomitable Lions have struggled to find the back of the net of late, failing to score in two crucial games in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Two months ago, Cameroon needed maximum points to advance automatically against Angola at home, but ended up drawing 0-0.
A month later, Cameroon had a second chance to qualify as runners-up in Africa’s top four group, but they were eliminated in the play-offs after losing 1-0 to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For Cameroon fans, recalling the past exploits of star forwards such as Roger Milla, Patrick Mboma and Samuel Eto’o, the back-to-back vacancies are difficult to swallow.
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Mbemo started in both games, but poor service and tight marking in the midfield led to few scoring opportunities.
Aboubakar is the eight-goal leader at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, with hosts Cameroon in third place behind Senegal and Egypt.
It was an outstanding performance in modern African top-flight football and came just one goal shy of equaling Congolese Ndaye Mulamba’s 1974 record.
But when new Cameroon coach David Pagu left Aboubakar out of the squad for the trip to Morocco, Mbeumo lost a potentially key partner in attack.
– low morale –
“We want to do different things. They are good players, but we look to others and create a different mentality,” Pagu said, referring to Aboubakar and goalkeeper Andre Onana.
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While Mbeumo will be looking for goals against Gabon, defending champions Ivory Coast and Mozambique in Group F, he will also have to shoulder the added responsibility of taking over from Aboubakar as captain.
He must cheer up a team demoralized by failure to qualify for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Cameroon holds the African record with eight World Cup appearances. Losing to Group D champion Cape Verde, a West African island with a population of only 525,000, was a heavy blow.
Mbeumo was born in eastern France to a Cameroonian father and a French mother, making him eligible to represent both countries.
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He played youth football for France before switching his allegiance to Cameroon. His highlight game so far for the Indomitable Lions was at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At club level, he spent one season with French side Troyes before spending six seasons with Brentford, helping the London club gain promotion to the Premier League.
He forms a dynamic attacking partnership with DR Congo winger Eoin Visa at the Bees – the pair scored six times in the same game last season.
Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo can achieve this feat in the 2024-25 Premier League season.
He has scored six goals for United this season, including twice in a 4-2 home win over Brighton.
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