Cameroon were handed a wake-up called ahead of the FIFA
World Cup after succumbing to a 2-1 friendly defeat to Paraguay.
Thursday's match in Austria was the first of three
warm-up games for Volker Finke's men before the tournament in Brazil, which
starts next month.
However, Cameroon - who missed a late penalty - were left
in no doubt as to the difficulty they will face in South America, as goals in
each half from Oscar Romero and Roque Santa Cruz ensured victory for Victor
Genes' men
With Finke yet to trim his squad down to the maximum size
of 23, several players with limited experience were handed the opportunity to
shine.
But they were on the back-foot from the off as Romero
opened the scoring with a composed finish inside four minutes.
Santa Cruz swept home the second with just over 20
minutes remaining, before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting halved the deficit.
There was late drama when Cameroon were awarded a
spot-kick, but Mohammadou Idrissou fluffed his lines from 12 yards.
Paraguay - who failed to qualify for the World Cup -
attacked from the off and were celebrating an early goal when Ramon Coronel
burst down the right before his centre was collected by Romero, who took one
touch before calmly finishing past Charles Itandje in the Cameroon goal.
Santa Cruz went close to extending the lead when he
flashed an effort wide of goal with 20 minutes on the clock.
Both teams shared a chance apiece shortly before
half-time, Benjamin Moukandjo's free-kick was well parried by Paraguay keeper
Roberto Fernandez, while Itandje's foot denied Romero a second when the forward
went one-on-one.
Cameroon started the second half brightly, yet it was
Paraguay who thought they had doubled the lead when David Mendieta put the
finishing touch on a well-worked move only to be denied by the offside flag.
Paraguay did grab a second in the 68th minute, however,
when experienced Malaga striker Santa Cruz side-footed home first time from
Junior Alonso's cross.
Choupo-Moting pulled a goal back with 15 minutes
remaining after he smashed home from close range following a bout of head
tennis at a corner.
Cameroon were then handed a lifeline when Moukandjo was
clumsily felled by Gustavo Gomez in the area, but Idrissou saw his penalty
saved by Fernandez, leaving Finke with much to ponder before their World Cup
opener with Mexico on June 13.
Culled from Soccerway
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