AFCON qualifiers: Pagou says Lions aiming for maximum points from Congo clash.

The trainer speaking in Brazzaville, Congo yesterday. 

This was during a pre-match press conference ahead of the Indomitable Lions’ showdown with the Red Devils.

The Indomitable Lions will square up with the Red Devils at the Alphonse Massamba Debat Stadium in Brazzaville with kickoff scheduled for 8:00pm Cameroon time.

Cameroon will begin the matchday sitting as the top-ranked team in Group G of the qualifying series owing to the goal-backed advantage that it claimed after humbling the Comoros Island 3-1 in Garoua last week on the opening matchday of the series.

But things may change before the 8:00pm fixture as second-placed Namibia which outsmarted third-placed Congo Brazzaville on the opening gameday, entertain bottom-ranked Comoros Islands at 1pm.

Speaking ahead of the showdown which will mark the first clash between Cameroon and Congo at the senior level close to five decades ago, coach Pagou said the Indomitable Lionesses are aiming to leave Brazzaville with all three points.

The trainer argued that Cameroon which was beaten 4nil when the two nations last met on March 13, 1977 during the qualifiers to the 1978 AFCON, respects the Congolese team and is therefore not considering itself as the favorite heading into Tuesday’s match.

Pagou however insisted that Cameroon will be going all out to claim maximum points from the fixture as it looks to further stamp its authority in the pool where the presence of the likes Namibia and Comoros Islands leaves no room for complacency.

“We are going to play to our strengths and qualities. We know that on the other side, we are facing a wounded team that will be eager to bounce back on home turf,” the trainer stated. 

The trainer said asides the quest to secure all three points to consolidate Cameroon’s leadership position in the pool, the Indomitable Lions will equally be motivated by the desire to end the series of unconvincing results that the team has been recording in away matches in recent years. 

“Over the last five years, Cameroon has struggled on the road. But for us on the pitch, we enter every match to win. So tomorrow, we are playing for the victory, not for a draw. We are not coming here as resigned victims,” the tactician added. 

No mercy to his ‘father’, Claude Le Roy

Asked to comment on his feeling as he braces to go head-to-head with one of the Indomitable Lions’ most iconic coaches of all times in Claude Le Roy, Pagou said he holds the Frenchman in high esteem.

The Lions trainer said the respect that he has for the 78-year-old trainer who coached Cameroon in two stints between 1985 and 1998, will however not stop him from wanting to beat the Red Devils.

“There is no comparison to be made with Claude Le Roy. He is like a father to me, a veteran of the game, a fine tactician, and, above all, a master psychologist,” Pagou said about Claude Le Roy who won the 1988 AFCON with Cameroon, two years after leading the team to the final of the competition in 1986.

“We are going to try to challenge him. But we will play our game exactly as we prepared it,” Pagou who made his international coaching debut with the Indomitable Lions in December last year, added about the Frenchman who told reporters yesterday that he was going to beat Cameroon on Tuesday. 

Defends player selection

Pagou defended his decision to choose to play newcomer, Blondy Noukeu as the starting goalkeeper in the match against the Comoros Islands. 

The tactician said he believes in the qualities that the France-based goalkeeper has, announcing that the Boulogne football club shot stopper whose performance against the Comoros Island was highly-criticized will be starting goalkeeper against the Red Devils.

“Blondy Noukeu will start again in tomorrow’s match. The hierarchy among the goalkeepers will naturally establish itself based on what we need,” the 57-year-old trainer said, arguing that he has confidence in all his 26 players. 

Lessons from 2026 World Cup

Defender, Samuel Kotto, who accompanied coach Pagou during Monday’s presser, said Cameroon will strive to make good use of the lessons that it learned during the 2026 FIFA World Cup where the high number of upsetting results that were recorded restated how the dynamics keeps changing in football globally.

“As the coach mentioned, Cameroon isn’t the favorite,” the center-back said. 

“They might not be the favorites on paper but on the pitch it’s a different story. Out on the field it’s 11 players against 11 players, plus the home crowd. In that sense, we aren’t the favorites,” he added. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3924 of Tuesday September 29, 2026