Untenable in recent weeks with Bayern Munich, with ten goals scored in his last nine matches with the Bavarian club, and scorer with Cameroon in a warm-up match against Panama, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is, at 33, in a sparkling form before starting the Mondial-2022.
Enough to feed the great ambitions of Samuel Eto'o.
The president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) sees big for his country, which begins its World Cup against Switzerland on Thursday 24 November.
"Our goal is to leave the competition on December 18 [date of the World Cup final in Qatar, editor's note], we don't lose sight of that," he told the media recently.
Model Teammate
To meet the expectations of the former Barça and Indomitable Lions striker, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting – who is one of the leaders of his selection with goalkeeper André Onana, midfielder Frank Zambo Anguissa and captain Vincent Aboubakar – will have to stack the goals.
As he has done since the start of the season in Germany.
After the departure to Barça of Robert Lewandowski, the Polish "goleador" of Bayern, this summer, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has indeed endorsed in a rather unexpected way the costume of the providential striker of the Bavarian club.
Because so far, the native of Hamburg, revealed in Mainz (2011-2014), under the orders of a certain Thomas Tuchel, then at Schalke 04 (2014-2017), has throughout his career aroused a certain skepticism as to his ability to shine at the highest level.
The top striker has never scored more than ten league goals.
He is even a little mocked when he joins the constellation of PSG stars, to everyone's surprise, during the summer transfer window of 2018, after a failed stint in Stoke City (30 matches, five goals), in England, at the request of coach Thomas Tuchel, then in charge of the Parisian club.
However, the Cameroonian international despite himself maintains his reputation as a clumsy player in front of goal, with incredible misses.
But the public at the Parc des Princes does not hold it against him and appreciates the personality of this model teammate, combative and always smiling, confined to the bench of substitutes.
Despite his finishing worries – he scored just seven goals in 41 Ligue 1 appearances between 2018 and 2020 – he managed to make PSG history with a memorable performance in the Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta Bergamo, in August 2020. Came into play ten minutes from the end of the match, he single-handedly sent – with an assist and a goal – his team to the semi-finals.
One of the heroes of the qualification in Algeria
At the end of the contract in Paris, he therefore decided to continue his career in Bavaria.
After two seasons in the shadow of Robert Lewandowski, he established himself as a starter in one of the most prestigious clubs in the world.
He even turns into a surface fox, concluding with lethal precision the actions patiently constructed by his teammates.
In the league and in the Champions League.
At the same time, with Cameroon, he definitely entered the hearts of the fans by scoring his first goal in the decisive match played against Algeria in March in Blida, and won in extra time by the Indomitable Lions (1-2).
The first African country to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1990, Cameroon also has the highest number of participations in the World Cup on the continent (eight).
But before reaching the final coveted by Samuel Eto'o, the Cameroonians will have to raise their level of play. In their second World Cup preparation match on Friday, they once again drew against Panama ( 1-1, goal by Choupo-Moting), after achieving the same result against Jamaica a week earlier.
They will also have to break a curse that has dogged the country in the World Cup since the epic 1990, with systematic first-round eliminations in each of their last appearances (in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014).
For this, the scorer in full revival will have to find the key against Switzerland, Serbia or even Brazil, big favorite of group G and the tournament.
The World Cup in Qatar beyond football:
>> Italy, Argentina, Russia… Before Qatar, three controversial World Cups
>> Behind "carbon neutrality", the "greenwashing" World Cup
>> "It's a disposable workforce": the hell of migrant workers in Qatar
>> A controversial World Cup: Qatar's efforts to counter criticism
>> Qatar: shadow workers
>> Should we boycott the World Cup in Qatar? An Emirate under criticism
>> A bought World Cup? Since 2010, suspicions of corruption have weighed on Qatar
>> After Qatar, is a "greener" World Cup possible?
>> Mondial-2022: a political, economic or "hypocritical" boycott?
>> I have the right, I don't have the right... Guide for the good little supporter in Qatar
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