European Leagues: Contrasting fortunes for Cameroonians as new season begins.

Cameroonian forward, Etta Eyong made headlines after scoring on his La Liga debut in Spain with Villareal. This was in a 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.

The 21-year-old preferred right foot striker became the first player of Villareal to score this season. 

Eyong opened the scoring for his team before the half hour mark.

His teammate, Pape Gueye of Senegal sealed the win before the break.

Eyong played fulltime with 19 touches and impressed on the pitch in his team’s win. 

The talent, who joined Villareal from the reserve team, announced himself in fashion in the top tier.

The Cameroonian scored 19 times for the reserve team in as much as 30 matches and is poised to replicate the same performance with the club’s first team.

He would be hoping to add to his goal tally when Villareal welcomes Girona on matchday two. 

The fixture is scheduled to take place Sunday August 24.

Heartbreak for Baleba’s Brighton

In England, Carlos Beleba was named Brighton and Hove Albion’s Man of the Match, MOTM, after a 1-1 stalemate with Fulham in their Premier League Opener at the American Express Stadium on Saturday.

The Indomitable midfielder was handed a starting role on his first game of the season with Brighton and played for 69 minutes before being replaced by Diego Gomez.

Baleba and his teammates took the lead following a converted penalty from from Matt O’ Riley. They were on course for a win when Rodrigo Muniz scored a stoppage time equalizer.

Baleba and Brighton shall be in action on August 24 against Everton in their first away match of the season.

Perfect start for Wooh, Nagida, Magri…

Elsewhere in France, Cameroonian duo centre back; Christopher Wooh and left back; Mahamadou Nagida came off the bench to help Stade Rennais to a slim 1-0 win over Olympic of Marseille in the French Ligue 1 opener.

While Wooh was introduced in the game on 37 minutes after Mohamed Kader Meite suffered an injury, Nagida featured in the last 12 minutes of the game. Both players were solid defensively to secure maximum points over Marseilles.

Stade Rennais of Wooh and Nagida shall be hoping to continue their perfect start in the French Ligue 1 when they take on promoted side Lorient, which has two Cameroonian players Arthur Avom Ebong and Darlin Yongwa.

Still in France, Franck Magri was a starter for Toulouse against OGC Nice in their first game. Magri played for 76 minutes as his team picked up a slim 1-0 victory. Defender Djibril Sidibe scored the solitary goal.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3537 of Monday August 18, 2025